– HPS Luncheon
THE fuel shortage affecting Guyana Oil Company (GuyOil) is expected to be rectified by today, according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon.
He told the media, Cabinet was informed that a shipment will arrive today and it will solve the problem at GuyOil stations countrywide. Luncheon pointed out that the shortfall is not being experienced by GuyOil outlets only, but may exist across the entire retail sector.
Earlier this week, Managing Director of GuyOil, Badre Persaud said there was a delay in the arrival of a consignment that was scheduled to be in Guyana since last week. However, he confirmed that it will come this week.
Checks at a few of the GuyOil stations, on Tuesday, revealed that there is still a significant shortage of fuel in the country.
Some locations did not have any as of early this week, and those at Victoria, East Coast Demerara and West Coast Berbice could not facilitate a major purchase.
The Guyana Chronicle understands that GuyOil has been experiencing the situation for at least a week, and minibus operators, especially, are being forced to buy from elsewhere at a higher price, as some of the privately owned service stations have increased their prices.
The excise tax had been lowered from 15 to 10 percent in early May, and the Government Information Agency (GINA) had explained that this decision was taken in light of the upward movement in the imported cost of gasolene.
“The acquisition price on the last shipment of gasolene bought by GuyOil was US$142.85 per barrel, which is an increase of 19.7 percent above the acquisition price of US$119.32 per barrel at the end of last year,” the agency pointed out.
Delay
Meanwhile, in an invited comment, Head of Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Mahender Sharma, said the low stock at GuyOil, presently, is due mainly to a four-day delay at the Isla Refinery in Curacao and the prevailing dynamics of the Guyana market.
He said there are three main oil companies operating locally, GuyOil, Rubis West Indies Ltd, and SOL (Guyana) Inc, each of which imports fuel for their respective supply chains.
Sharma said Guyana receives about five to six shipments of fuel per month from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, and the average monthly importation varies, depending on the seasonal demand.
He said importation volumes for the month of May were consistent with the requests from the various companies and an unusual increase in consumption is not currently anticipated.
Sharma maintained, though, that, while GuyOil has a low stock at some filling stations, there is no fuel shortage situation in the country as gasolene, dieselene and kerosene are available at the other oil companies’ outlets.