For every dollar that the price of oil goes up, the Dominican Republic has to find US$50 million to pay for its fuel supply. On a daily basis, this means an additional US$140,000 will be needed to cover the daily demand of 140,000 barrels of petroleum. So far this month, oil prices have risen by over two dollars. Even though the Dominican Republic might not pay the world price for its oil, especially considering the San Jose Accords with Venezuela and Mexico, the final price that is paid is not that far off the world price. Normally, when blackouts are not so prolonged, the country imports between 50 and 55 million barrels of oil a year, in the form of a reconstituted oil ? not Sweet Crude from Texas or the North Sea. Venezuela provides 90% of the crude imported into the DR. In 2002, the country imported 50.1 million barrels of crude at an average price of US$25.70. The year 2003 saw a US$4 increase in the price of crude and the country paid out US$1.51 billion in oil invoices. For the first half of 2004 the average price of oil has been calculated as US$35.70 and the oil bill for the first six months was US$732 million on imports of just 20 million barrels.