Motorists yesterday complained of what appeared to be a shortage of fuel at service stations which saw at least four gas stations in the city shuttering their doors and while Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said he was unaware of the shortage, he revealed that there was a “delay” in uplifting fuel from the refineries.
The Sol and Rubis gas stations on Vlissengen Road and the Guyoil gas stations on Regent Street and Hadfield Street were closed yesterday while attendants at the Guyoil station in Kitty indicated that rather than the normal three shifts, the station was expected to close after two shifts.
On Saturday, most of the service stations in the city, the East Bank and East Coast Demerara were closed and yesterday morning, motorists were told that they were only allowed $2000 worth of fuel in their vehicles. Several drivers were overhead complaining about this restriction. A similar situation prevailed on the West Demerara.
Contacted yesterday, the Prime Minister said that he was unaware that a fuel shortage existed but revealed that there was a delay in uplifting fuel at the refineries in Curacao and Venezuela. He added that it was not expected that there would have been a shortage before the fuel arrived.
Asked when the fuel was expected in the country, Hinds said that he did not have those details and contact should instead be made with head of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) Dr Mahender Sharma. However, Stabroek News was unable to contact Sharma.
At the Fraley’s Gas Station, Stabroek News was told that it was expected to open later in the afternoon after being closed for most of the day. It was disclosed that the manager had travelled to the Berbice storage facility to uplift some fuel and most stations in the city were doing the same. It was pointed out that because Berbice has less traffic than Georgetown, the shortage was not being felt there. The management of that service station said that they were told that the boat with the fuel was expected in the country today or tomorrow.
