Many Enoc/Eppco petrol stations run partially dry

Many Enoc/Eppco petrol stations in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and other emirates are partially or fully dry since yesterday midnight because petrol tankers from Jebel Ali did not supply these stations due to increased demand from other closed sites.

Speaking to Emirates24|7, managers of Enoc/Eppco stations said they are turning away customers since yesterday night and are not sure when petrol supply will resume, as there is an uncertainty in the Jebel Ali Port. The petrol station boys are taking rest, they added.

“I have been sitting here only to inform our regular customers that there is no petrol. We have only super quality petrol and diesel. Even though super quality petrol costs only 11 fils more than the special category, no customer wants to fill their tanks with super petrol. They say we are not “arbaab” to buy super petrol,” said Mohammed, a petrol station salesman in one of the Northern Emirates.

Petrol stations with six to eight dispensing machines are running only two or three machines, keeping the remaining sections closed. Road barriers are kept to inform motorists there is no petrol sales at those units. This follows the total closure of three petrol stations in Sharjah, officially confirmed by Eppco.

As there are a number of Eppco/Enoc stations closed, the business in the adjacent petrol stations have gone up, leaving employees there under more pressure. “The petrol pump opposite Al Safeer Mall has been closed for a few days. The business has gone up substantially in the next Eppco station. We have seen an increase in business volume, but the tanks were empty by late evening and we did not know whether there will be supply from Jebel Ali to continue petrol sales,” added a salesman in an Eppco station on Al Wahda Road. He said the demand for petrol remains high, but the sales volume of diesel has come down drastically, leaving the company’s profit margins under pressure.

An Eppco source said: “We used to get subsidy for selling petrol at subsidised rates. When the international oil price started going up, there was increased pressure on our bottomline. Whatever loss that we used to suffer in petrol sale was made from the diesel sales, car wash business and convenient stores. Due to the economic situation, the demand for diesel has come down, and this has really affected sales in the Eppco/Enoc stations in industrial areas. “It has been a week since we started having supply problems. When the Emarat petrol pumps went dry, the issue also affected Eppco stations. The problem was solved within a few days, but this time, the problems seem to be more serious. The company wants an increase in petrol price,” said the source. As per earlier reports, Enoc/Eppco needs $2.7 billion to meet the deficit due to susbidised petrol sales.

Employees are also hoping that the business returns to normalcy as their livelihood and bonus depends on the company performance. “We did not get any salary increase for the last three years. This June we were expecting a bonus, but we are not sure whether it will be coming this year,” said another petrol station staff.

“We stopped two to three dispensing machines because there is no petrol and no staff to man them. A software upgradation is also going on, that is the reason for closing four of the dispensing sections,” the manager of a petrol station in Dubai said.

He said the business volume has gone up because customers from Sharjah now flock to Dubai to fill their tanks. Hundreds of Enoc/Eppco employees work for Dh1,200 to Dh1,400 and their dream of getting a salary hike or bonus are marred by the current supply problems.  They said while their salaries are very low, some of the offices are getting fat pay packets.  “Our work load has been going up, but there is no additional incentives,” said one of the staff. “When petrol sales come down, business in the convenient stores are also affected. It will also affected out fast food outlets and related businesses housed inside the petrol station complexes,” said the source. “We keep fighting with the customers who are in a hurry to go. Because other sites are closed, there is always big queue outside our station and people want to fill their tanks early and leave. They take out their frustration on the petrol station employees. “We feel the heat inside and out. Some customers are really treating us very badly,” he said.

Enoc/Eppco stations get their refuelling through tankers which transport petrol sourced from various countries including Bahrain. “There is some serious problem in Jebel Ali. Whatever subsidy that we used to get is stopped and we cannot increase petrol price. The company is keen to have a petrol price increase, but given the current mood in the country, it is difficult to get approval for a petrol price increase. There is a plan to control prices of 400 food and related products, and it is difficult to increase petrol prices which will cause a spiralling impact on all other commodity prices,” said a Eppco source.“Most of our business is petrol sales and there is virtually no demand for diesel because our site is located in the Sharjah residential areas,” said a petrol station employee in Al Qasmia.

Emarat Petrol stations are running normally.

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