Now, it’s a whole new ballgame.

This time they would have a hard time finding excuses for not lowering      prices of oil products -- and pronto!

With trouble in the Middle East reaching a turning point and overseas petroleum markets stabilizing, world oil prices have no way to go but down.

And local pump prices should only follow, right? Wrong. 

“The oil companies are not only a slowpoke in rolling back prices but also slow in making announcement of a possible price cut while it takes them nanoseconds  to increase or announce a price adjustment,” Sen. Ralph Recto thus protested yesterday.

Recto noted that “when oil prices were declining, the oil firms appeared tentative in cutting down their pump prices, which until now has not even reached the total of P5 in overall price rollbacks”.

And yet when oil prices started to show some upward movement over-the-weekend, he said “oil firms were quick to telegraph a possible price hike of P1.50 per liter this week”.

Now, the former Soio-economic  Planning secretary has a challenge for them: “But when world oil prices suddenly plunged before their ‘fat cats’ went out for lunch Monday, the oil firms clammed up and retreated to their cash vaults, waiting for a “miracle” to happen within the day. Now, would the oil firms stick to their telegraphed plan this morning to increase prices or should they start talking how much pump prices be cut?”

Quite happily, good, old market forces – the favorite and convenient  excuse of oil companies in hoisting prices of local oil products – are on the side of consumers this time around.

But if local oil firms do not reduce their retail prices, they could court the same turmoil experienced in the Middle East as consumers are on the verge of some revolt.   

Crude fell in Asian trade yesterday as rebels seized parts of Libya’s capital and the fate of leader Moamer Kadhafi hung in the balance.

Brent North Sea crude for October delivery plunged $2.37 to $106.25 from Friday’s close.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery slid 25 cents to $82.01 a barrel after rising to above $83 in early morning trade driven partly by concerns over US oil demand.

“This is really the main news event,” Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore, said of the situation unravelling in Libya.

“Rebels have entered Tripoli… there have also been reports Kadhafi will get out of the country,” Shum told Agence France-Presse.

Libya, a key crude-exporting nation that was producing some 1.49 million barrels per day before the rebellion broke out in mid-February, has seen its output slashed significantly since the revolt began.

About 85 percent of Libyan oil output was exported to Europe until the revolt disrupted the country’s production.

Brent crude is under selling pressure as a resolution of the crisis in Libya, which will likely see the country gradually resuming full scale oil production, will mean more supplies to the European markets, analysts said.

Libyan rebels surged into Tripoli Sunday in a final drive to oust Kadhafi as they seized swathes of the capital, including symbolic Green Square, and arrested the strongman’s son, Seif al-Islam.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama said Sunday Kadhafi’s regime had reached a “tipping point,” and the Libyan strongman must leave now to avoid further bloodshed.

Apart from the situation in Libya, New York crude erased earlier gains as traders worried that US demand will be hit after recently released data indicated the world’s biggest economy is stalling, analysts said.