There is no fuel shortage – NPA rubbished reports
The National Petroleum Authority has assured that there is enough diesel in stock to meet consumers despite concerns of fuel shortage in the country.
Abass Ibrahim Tasunti, Head of the Economic Regulation at the NPA explained that some Oil Marketing Companies are currently experiencing a shortage because their preferred Bulk Oil Distributors may have stopped supplying the product for some time.
He was quick to add that the situation is not related to a shortage of diesel.
“We have heard these concerns about the shortage of diesel. We have enough diesel to meet demand. The challenge that is being faced now is that some particular OMCs are having challenges getting the product from their preferred importers, but concerning diesel we have enough.”
In recent times, some challenges with the current global supply chain have increased the price of diesel.
To salvage the situation, Mr Tasunti said the government had reached an agreement with some transporters of petroleum products to import them and store them at their fuel depots.
He explained that the move is to ensure that there are diesel stocks available for import. He thus cautioned consumers against panic buying.
It will be recalled that a few weeks ago, the Institute for Energy Securities (IES) predicted fuel shortages in the country. Currently, there are reports that some filling stations are out of stock.
Many social media users have complained about their inability to get fuel at various oil marketing companies, particularly GOIL.
Some checks indicate that many customers were turned away from some fuel stations due to the lack of fuel.
