Minister of Finance Vicente Bengoa has said that the DR will have to disburse an additional US$300 million between August and December to pay its oil bills. Bengoa stated that the best way to avoid a higher disbursement is to maintain the stability of the foreign exchange rate. He said that the government had estimated a total payment of US$2.338 billion on petroleum, which was calculated at US$50 per barrel, but the current price is higher that US$64 per barrel. Should the price remain stable, the total disbursement would end up being US$2.7 billion, he declared. However, if it goes up to US$75 per barrel, the DR would have to disburse a total of US$3.1 billion. The price per barrel of crude oil closed yesterday at US$64.90 after having reached US$65.00 during the session. Bengoa refused to comment on the tax reform negotiations because neither he nor the Ministry of Finance are part of the talks.