Hoy newspaper looks into the issue of gasoline and fuel prices. Mario Mendez, the economic editor, writes that the main reason for the high fuel prices is the way the refinery purchases petroleum. According to Hoy, the refinery works on a cost plus benefits system where higher costs equal higher benefits, since the benefits are calculated as a percentage of costs. The Shell Company does not have to risk one cent in its fuel purchases since all purchases are financed by the Banco de Reservas of the Dominican Republic at relatively high interest rates. Industry and Commerce Minister Francisco Javier Garcia told reporters last week that the laws covering hydrocarbons, coal and petroleum needed to change. He pointed out that prices for gasoline and other fuels were being calculated according to criteria that were not in any way applicable to the DR. One of the points made by Garcia was that the only price that is used when calculating oil purchases is the price for West Texas Intermediate. However, that is not the real price paid by the refinery, since most oil is not acquired from Houston, Texas, but from places closer to the Dominican Republic. This, in turn lowers costs, both petroleum prices and cargo charges are less, but these are not factored into the cost of the oil, just the West Texas Intermediate price and the shipping charges from Houston that elevate costs, but also reap greater benefits for the refinery. Both of these points surfaced last week when UASD Energy Institute director Jose Luis Moreno San Juan analyzed the current price structure of gasoline and diesel fuels. The new president of the refinery, Aristides Fernandez Zucco admitted that the refinery’s previous management bought dollars on the exchange market at prices that were significantly above the going rate. According to the official, he has managed to save the refinery RD$160 million by more careful purchases.