It’s not ‘peak oil’, but problems in the distribution of diesel fuel that’s at issue here. Saudi Gazette reports, quoting the Arabic daily Al-Hayat, that petrol stations in the north of the country, near the Iraq border, are experiencing problems in getting sufficient supplies. Blame is being laid at the feet of ARAMCO, for not properly allocating distribution, and to industrial users who are ‘hogging’ the market.

Northern fuel shortages widen

AR’AR – A fuel crisis is the last crisis most would not expect in the world’s largest oil exporting country. The northwestern city of Ar’ar already facing a diesel shortage for the last month is now faced with a shortage of fuel.

Some nine owners of fuel stations filed complaints to the Ar’ar Chamber of Commerce and Industry against Saudi Aramco for not supplying enough fuel to meet their needs, Al-Hayat reported.

Thani Al-Anezi, chairman of the Northern Frontier Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the complaint has been referred to the concerned authorities and will be followed up because the impact falls on citizens, travelers and owners of fuel stations. He called on Saudi Aramco to conduct a field survey and supply fuel as it is required to fuel stations and factories through its own fuel tanker trucks or contracted ones.

Al-Anezi said the shortage was due to a new electronic quota system adopted by Saudi Aramco.

“The electronic system distributes a certain quantity of fuel to each fuel station, but the quantity distributed is not precise and does not meet the market demand,” he said. “The system does not take into consideration that many fuel stations do not own their own fuel tanker trucks, so several fuel stations may help each other.”
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