Motorists are facing a hike in petrol costs with the average price of a litre of unleaded expected to hit the €1.30 mark over the next seven days.
It is understood Maxol will raise its wholesale price by 10 cent from today, and other distributors will follow suit.
Oil firms say the rise results from a series of international shocks, the latest being Hurricane Katrina, which is feared to have damaged US oil refineries.
Asked about the likelihood of the price of unleaded hitting €1.30 a litre next week, Maxol Group managing director Tom Noonan said: "While we will await developments, it's inevitable that this price will appear right across the board in the coming days."
Other firms have declined to comment on expected price changes.
A spokesman for Texaco said yesterday its policy was to be competitive wherever it operated but it would not discuss "commercially sensitive information".