It is disheartening and painfully obvious that the four oil companies operating here - Shell, Caltex, ExxonMobil and SPC - have taken the easiest way out of the recent crude-oil situation, by increasing pump prices at their whim.

While transport costs and food prices have gone up with much opposition from the man in the street, it is surprising that the increases in petrol and diesel prices have not stirred up dismay at the action of the oil companies.

This is despite the fact that petrol and diesel prices have gone up by 20 per cent over a period of about two years - far more than the increase in transport costs and food prices over the same period.

Have Singaporeans grown used to the pump-price increases without registering their displeasure with the oil companies? Or is it that their complaints are falling on deaf ears?

Despite there being four oil companies here, there is no perceivable competition among them in terms of their main products. Prices and discounts are the same at every station, with prices changing within hours of each other in most cases.

Only the premium-grade petrol sold by Shell and Caltex show some product differentiation.

SPC made a big impact a few years ago when it started providing petrol and diesel at lower prices. But since then, it has become just another oil company that follows the big players.

This cartel-like behaviour is unheard of in other consumer-driven industries such as telecommunications.

I urge the Government to regulate petrol and diesel prices here, otherwise there will be nothing to stop oil companies from doubling or even tripling their pump prices two more years from now.

Benjamin Tay

'Despite there being four oil companies here, there is no perceivable competition among them in terms of their main products. Prices and discounts are the same at every station, with prices changing within hours of one another in most cases.'