Page 12 - DMEA Week 10 2022

DMEA FUELS DMEA

Liberia cautions against

panic buying after price hike

AFRICA LIBERIA’S government has responded to reports “The public is therefore assured that gaso-
of motor fuel hoarding following a price hike by line and fuel will be available at the major fill-
urging consumers not to engage in panic buying. ing stations as the importers lift their products
In a statement published on March 5, the throughout the weekend,” the statement said.
government cautioned against the hoarding of “The Ministry of Commerce and the LPRC will
fuel, noting that this practice was illegal under remain engaged with the importers to derive a
Liberian law. It also declared that the country’s mutually acceptable price structure for the petro-
petroleum product inventories were sufficient leum products in light of the global increase in
to cover domestic demand for at least the next the prices of petroleum products.”
few months. The government published its statement
It also reported that the relevant state agen- amidst widespread discontent over last week’s
cies, including but not limited to the Ministry of surprise increase in fuel prices. According to
Commerce and Industry and Liberia Petroleum FrontPageAfrica, within the past few days,
Refining Co. (LPRC), were working with fuel Liberians have seen petrol prices jump from
importers to ensure that deliveries of petrol and LRD620 ($4.02) per gallon to LRD1,000-1,200
diesel would continue despite recent increases in ($6.48-7.78).
world crude oil prices. The price hike has already disrupted the
These talks will ensure that local filling sta- Liberian economy, as it has led many commer-
tions continue to make petrol and diesel avail- cial transportation operators, such as motorcycle
able for sale while Liberian authorities hammer and automobile taxi drivers, to raise their fares.
out a new pricing structure that reflects new bull- In turn, many passengers have opted to walk
ish developments such as the crisis in Ukraine, rather than pay nearly twice as much as usual for
it said. rides. ™

Sylva says Nigeria is not

running low on gasoline

AFRICA NIGERIA’S Minister of State for Petroleum contaminated gasoline cargoes last month,
Resources Timipre Sylva told reporters in he said. Sylva described the queues at filling
Abuja on March 8 that the country was not stations as more akin to an accident than the
running short of petrol, even though consum- result of bad planning and noted that NNPC
ers are still facing long queues at many filling was working to speed up deliveries.
stations. NNPC group managing director Mele Kyari
Speaking after a briefing with Nigerian spoke similarly, saying at the same press brief-
National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) repre- ing that the state-owned company was working
sentatives, Sylva said he was satisfied that the 24 hours a day to move fuel from its storage
country had enough petroleum products in its depots to filling stations.
storage facilities to cover domestic demand. Kyari also complained that hoarders had
The fuel sector’s problems are not the results made conditions worse for ordinary consum-
of supply shortages but of disruptions stem- ers by purchasing more gasoline than they
ming from the unintended delivery of several needed for their own use. ™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 10 10•March•2022