Simon Parham: Waitomo Group CEO on fuel prices amidst Iran war

Queues are forming at petrol stations as concerns over increasing fuel prices brought on by the war in Iran.

International oil prices have increased since the start of the war as traffic halts in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s crude oil is transported.

Waitomo Group CEO Simon Parham joins Heather du Plessis-Allan to chat about the near-future of our gas prices. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now on to another subject, QS of forming at petrol
stations as worried commuters try to fill their tanks before
the war in Iran sends the fuel prices through the roof.
The price of crude oil has shot up since the
start of the war. The AA is expecting the petrol
prices here to go up next week as a result.
Simon param is why Tormal Group's CEO, and he joins me. Now, Hi, Simon,
I see the AA reckons the prices will go up

(00:21):
next week. But haven't they already gone up?

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well? I think the market had already priced in a
bit of tension with the US Iran nuclear negotiations, but
they hadn't certainly hadn't priced in the war. And so
that's what we've seen this week as a real spike,
and those and those crew prices and specifically the Singaporean
plats prices that then flow into our market.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Are you considering putting up your prices or by how much?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Well, looking ahead from where we are today, I think
in the coming week we will have to see prices increase,
like gasoline between five to ten cents a leader and
dzel bow about fifteen to twenty cents a leader.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
There's some speculation that we could be looking at by
thirty cents a liter shortly. Is that I mean, is
that something we should be factoring in?

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, I think we've just got to take the market,
you know, every day at a time. It's been a
pretty crazy week, and I think our viewers that if
the strait of him Itz opens, then that spike's going
to resolve itself pretty quickly. But I guess the thing
for the customers out there is to shop around. There
are good deals out there. Even when I talk about

(01:25):
the prices that we might have to increase, that white
time of price will still be below a lot of
those full service companies out there today, So you know,
shop around. There's good deals out there.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
If you put your prices up by five to ten
cents a lead, where does that put your relative to
the three dollar mark.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Well, at the moment, our ninety one is about two
dollars sixty and our diesels two dollars five, So there's
still still a way for us to get to three dollars.
But there's some competitors out there at the moment who
are getting pretty close to that the three dollar mark.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
What are you guys pricing in for at this stage,
how long this business goes on for it?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Iran, Well, I guess if we listen to President Trump,
he's saying four weeks. I hope it's shorter. But you know,
we're just literally taken each day, you know, every day
we're hoping for good news and the price is just escalated, escalated, escalated.
So where as just a total watching brief, you guys
got any cues? Yeah, look, our field demand's been up

(02:23):
probably about ten to fifteen percent each day this week,
so we are seeing some cues on some sites, but
there's product there, plenty of supply there. So it is
those customers that are reading the headlines and getting in
there and filling up before those those prices increasing.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
Yeah, I was wondering, is it filling up before the
prices increase or are they freaking out about fuel supply
in this country?

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Well, yeah, the industry is definitely managing the stock well
and they mention it carefully. But there's twenty days of
product in the country and there's a ship arriving from
Singapore every other day, so you know, I guess supplies
in the issue right at this moment, but I think
they're looking to just front foot it versus what they're
seeing in the media and with increasing prices.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
In in it now, Marsden Point, is this something that we
need to discuss.

Speaker 2 (03:12):
It's probably above my pay grade. We've still probably been
a similar situation because we have to import crude. All
we're doing now is we're importing refined products. So it's
ready to go home.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
So Marsden Point gives us a few weeks supply, right,
and apparently there is another twenty nine days worth a
supply on the way. Do you actually how realistic is
it to fullesee a situation in the short term or
medium term where we run out of fuel? Is that realistic?

Speaker 2 (03:42):
I don't think it's realistic, you know. I think the
industry here filled with a lot of great professionals who
who manage that supply and they do a great job
and know there, like I said, there's a ship arriving
every second days from Singapore, So that doesn't just happen
by magic. It happens by a lot of great management.

Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, Simon's good to talk to you, mate, Thank you
very much. Simon param who is why Tormal groups CEO
for more from hither Duplessy Allen Drive.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
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