Petrol
A man pumps gasoline at a service station in Caracas August 7, 2014. Venezuela will raise gasoline prices, the country's oil minister told reporters on Tuesday, repeating a government promise to increase the world's lowest fuel prices for the first time in two decades. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez did not give a timeline for the increase, but said it would not be comparable to international prices. According to government figures, cheap fuel costs the gasoline subsidiary of state-run oil company PDVSA $12.5 billion in losses annually. REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA - Tags: ENERGY POLITICS)
A man pumps gasoline at a service station in Caracas August 7, 2014. Venezuela will raise gasoline prices, the country's oil minister told reporters on Tuesday, repeating a government promise to increase the world's lowest fuel prices for the first time in two decades. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez did not give a timeline for the increase, but said it would not be comparable to international prices. According to government figures, cheap fuel costs the gasoline subsidiary of state-run oil company PDVSA $12.5 billion in losses annually. REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA - Tags: ENERGY POLITICS)

Fuel distributor Caltex continued to downsize its Australian operations, announcing on Monday that it will further cut 10 per cent of its work force in the next 12 months. The 10 per cent is equal to 350 jobs that will be shed as part of Caltex's restructuring.

In 2012, Caltex axed 400 jobs when it shuttered its Kurnell refinery in Sydney. The changes aim to make the firm competitive and perform better, said Caltex Chief Executive Julian Segal.

"This is not just a cost out program but a holistic review of operations and efficiency across the whole organisation," Segal said.

He added, "We have been around for more than 100 years ... the way we have done that is to adjust to the type of environment in which we operate."

The closure of Caltex's Sydney refinery is part of the move of the company from fuel refining as it concentrates on distribution and marketing.

Of the 350 jobs to be lost, 115 would come from Caltex's marketing business, 120 are those performing corporate support functions and the rest from other parts of its business across the supply chain.

Caltex also announced that its first half net profit increased by 1 per cent to $173 million.

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