Gasoline
Current gasoline price in Aruba
Inquiries about current gasoline prices in Aruba are our top search request. For this reason arubalife.net keeps track of the current gasoline price in Aruba for you. We publish the price per liter in Aruba florin, Euro and the price per US gallon in US dollar. For your convenience we do all conversions. Visit this site frequently, we’ll keep you posted.
Aruba oil/gas price chart
Chart momentarily not available
Source Oil Prices: NYMEX Light Sweet Crude Oil Futures Prices,US Department of Energy
Source Aruba gasoline: arubalife.net
After an inexplicable gap in the relation between oil/prices in October 2008, things were adjusted to normal proportions in November 2008. Month-to-month, gasoline prices in Aruba dropped a whopping 28%. For the first time ever Aruba records such a big drop. For more information we Blog gasoline as well.
Gas stations
There are only two gasoline distribution companies on Aruba: Valero and Texaco. All gasoline stations in Aruba sell exclusively unleaded gasoline and gas-oil (diesel) and are supplied by Valero Aruba Refinery, including Texaco gas stations.
Tank stations are only allowed to change prices once a month. All gasoline stations, regardless the company, have the same gasoline price. Gasoline prices are NOT posted on boards like in the US and Europe. In Aruba all gasoline prices are in Aruba florins per liters.
Gas price
Officials at the Department of Economic Affairs (DoEA) meet twice a month with all the stakeholders, except consumers, to talk about the prices. DoEA: “As a base for the calculations, the quoted prices of the US Gulf Coast are employed as published in the Platt’s Oil gram.” DoEA stipulates the current retail fuel prices for the consumers by publishing it every second Wednesday of the month in local newspapers.
The gasoline prices in Aruba are settled as follows: officially the maximum retail prices for oil products (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) are determined by the DoEA. They calculate the retail prices each month to the adjusted international quoted prices by using a specific structure to determine the prices.
This “specific structure” is closely guarded from consumers, as we do not know the exact details on how the prices come to be. Details like profit margins are closely guarded as being “sensitive” information. Taxes are a very big part of the price structure as well.
This is what we know: Valero Aruba Refinery imports gasoline and kerosene (diesel is locally made) and calculates the price first hand. This calculation includes the cost of import (for diesel, cost of production), distribution and profit margins. Following this, the gasoline stations add their profit margins, where at the end the government adds its taxes and followed lastly by the publication.
Future energy
Aruba depends heavily on fossil fuel for daily life, tourism and other economic activity. Not only vehicles need fuel but Aruba’s most important utility company uses fuel: the water purification and power plant.
To generate power the utility company uses diesel for the generators and for processing of the water. This process, reverse osmosis, is generally implemented in desert areas with lots of cheap oil at their disposal. Not in Aruba. After reading above piece about the gasoline price you know that oil doesn’t come cheaply in Aruba.
Aruba’s options
Perhaps bio-fuel for cars? A large company from Brazil has shown interest to build a distribution facility for ethanol-fuel for export and maybe local consumption. Nothing has been confirmed, however. How about wind and solar power for the houses? Aruba has average winds of 20 miles per hour and sun in abundance.
In the near future there seems to be hope for these technologies to further develop into a secure and sustainable source of energy. For an island that lacks any natural resources, for now, perhaps it’s the only road ahead.
FAQ
Aruba is close to Venezuela, why don’t you get your fuel from them where it is so cheap?
Indeed the water that separates Aruba with Venezuela is only 17 miles (27 kilometers) wide. Since the 90s Aruba does not receive Venezuelan fuel due to “contractual” reasons. There is no political motive behind this, as some people suggest. Aruba has no political issues with Venezuelan President Chávez. In fact, foreign relations are a matter of the Foreign Ministry in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Didn’t Venezuela start an oil company with the intent of selling cheap gasoline to the Caribbean?
A few years ago the Venezuelan government launched PetroCaribe (Caribbean Petroleum) as an alternative seller of fuel for Caribbean nations. Some islands became members, but the majority didn’t. Apparently there are strings attached when purchasing from PetroCaribe.
How are the gasoline prices established?
Scroll higher up this article for the heading “Gas Price” and you’ll find an explanation.
You have a refinery in Aruba, why don’t they sell you cheap oil?
There is a refinery on the island, but it is not owned by Aruba. Actually, it is owned by Valero Energy Corporation, based in San Antonio, Texas, US. There are several reasons why Valero doesn’t supply the island with cheap oil. Fact of the matter is Valero is a publicly traded company with the intention of maximizing shareholders value. They are not in the business of subsidizing any community, despite the fact that they enjoy a legitimate tax holiday.
I see different prices posted on the internet, can you explain exactly how you convert the prices?
The biggest confusion doing the conversion is apparently the exchange rate US dollar to Aruba florin. Some people use the wrong exchange rate or forget it altogether.
Bear in mind that Aruba florin is the only legal money in Aruba. US dollar is accepted as a form of payment to make it easier on the visitors. The change must be given back in Aruba florin. In reality change is given back in US dollar to make it easier on the visitor.
The monetary authority in Aruba is the Central Bank of Aruba and they have the exchange rate fixed at 1 US dollar is 1.75 florin. There are variations for banks and other businesses that can sell the dollar up to 1.80 florins. Anything outside the 1.75 – 1.80 band is not allowed, therefore illegal.
In daily life, when you see a price in Aruba florin, such as gasoline, the exchange rate will be 1 US dollar is 1.75 florins. For this reason, this is the exchange rate used for making the gasoline conversion.
Example for May 2008:
» Official gasoline price published by the government every second Wednesday of the month. For April: 2.404 Aruba florins per 1 liter.
» 1 US gallon is 3.78541178 liter.
» The price for 1 US gallon in Aruba florin: 2.271 times 3.78541178 is 9.10012991912.
» The prices for 1 US gallon in US dollar: 9.10012991912 divided by 1.75 (exchange rate) is 5.2000742394971428571428571428571.
» Two digit rounding: $5.20
» 1 US gallon costs US$5.20
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Franco from Bonn, Germany
January 16th, 2009 at 1:20 am
Congratulations for your interesting web site on gasoline pricing. It’s nice to get some information on this issue from a beautiful place in the Carribean.
In Germany, we experience huge fluctuations of gas and diesel prices even on a daily basis. Prices often change twice a day. For whatever reason, best prices ususally can be found on Mondays.
We say the peak of prices in July at about €1.55 a liter (in those days about $9 a gallon) for gas and €1.40 ($8.21) for diesel. From August till the end of the year, prices tumbled, reaching lows of about €0.969 for diesel ($5.13 a gallon) and €1.049 for gasoline ($5.56 a gallon). By Mid-January, we noticed a strong rebound of the prices, currently we have to pay about €1.20 for gas ($5.95) and €1.12 for diesel ($5.55). Note that I used the exchange rates of the respective period of time, i.e. $1.55/€ in July, $1.40/€ in late December and $1.31/€ in Mid-January.
I would like to suggest your price updates in Wikipedia’s “Gasoline and diesel usage and pricing” site, which provides a table of gas prices around the world.
Best wishes from Bonn, Germany
Franco
Gabriel
January 16th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Thank you very much your comment and for the compliment. It is a fact that in most European countries fuel prices are very high due to various form of taxation. Whether or not we agree, it’s free for all countries to set their own method of taxation.
Some countries indicate that the reason for elevated taxation on gasoline, is to stimulate the use of public transport and lower the use of automobiles. Also they claim to use the proceeds from that tax to fix the infrastructure. While in other countries the taxes on gasoline is kept to a minimum, therefore giving people space to spend that money in the economy. The economy expands as a result, followed by more proceeds from taxes.
There is something to be said on both system. I personally think that perhaps a middle ground has to be found in terms of the relationship between gas and taxes. What the “middle ground” is, I’ll leave in the middle.
Once again, thank you extensive comment.
Alfonso Steenen
February 4th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Hello again.
This site is just great. Very nice job. I believe it must become common for the people in Aruba to inform themselves. I am doing my part by letting the people I know be aware of it!
Keeping track of the late low fluctuation in oil prices I have this question.
What do you predict next week prices will be? Will there be another (slight) reduce or an increase?
Thanks in advance.
Gabriel
February 4th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
I appreciate your comment. Thank you for visiting the site. About question, I believe the big drops in gasoline prices in Aruba are over. For the next price change I predict minor changes. It can go up or down only with a few cents.
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May 18th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
[...] fifteen minutes I found numerous places that post up-to-date prices. The most obvious of which was ArubaLife. The site goes into detail about how prices in Aruba are set and the fact that there is a Valero [...]