Middle East protests have started to affect oil prices on the Island and residents may begin to feel a pinch by next month.General Manager of RUBiS Energy, David Rose, said Bermuda was not sheltered from outside forces and factors that are currently having an effect on world oil prices.He said stakeholders were already concerned about what was happening in the Middle East and crude oil sales have recently been halted out of Libya.The country, located between Egypt and Algeria in North Africa, has been affected by violent protests against 41-year-ruler Moammar Gadhafi.Several US and UK news agencies have said global markets have been affected. While the British Broadcast Company (BBC) yesterday reported oil prices have hit their highest levels since 2008.Mr Rose said: “Obviously there is concern over what is happening in the Middle East which has already closed sales of crude from Libya and the real danger is the disruption of supply from Saudi Arabia, a big oil supplier for the US.“What does that mean for Bermuda? Supply prices have already seen a spike from sources that supply Bermuda and we are not immune from these price fluctuations.“What is happening with the world market will certainly affect Bermuda.“The Ministry of Finance regulates fuel prices in Bermuda based on a pricing formula agreed between Government and the industry. The selling price of fuels changes monthly in sympathy with supply prices.”Belco, which operates three months in advance, has yet to feel any impact on its operations.Company spokeswoman, Linda Smith, said: “Belco always watches oil prices closely and forward purchases fuel to help stabilise fuel costs.“We are not in a position to project what impact geo-political events will have on the cost of oil and at the moment we are monitoring this along with the rest of the world.“There will not be any immediate impact on our operations,” she said.But according to Mr Rose, the prices have already risen on crude oil, which is affecting the cost of refined products like gasoline and diesel.“If crude oil prices remain at present levels or increases further we will certainly feel the effect in mid March.”He explained that Government regulated industry margins, meaning that it doesn’t matter what the selling price is in Bermuda the industry margins remain unchanged.Mr Rose said industry stakeholders didn’t like to see high prices because it overall reduces sales.l Useful websites: http://rubis-bermuda.com/http://www.belco.bm/