Mozambique Authorities Advise Petrol Retailers to Buy Fuel from State
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Friday, 21 August 2009 |
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Mozambique's energy minister has told petrol retailers to sever
contracts with private suppliers and buy fuel from the state-owned
company.
Salvador Namburete authorised service stations to break their
contracts and purchase petrol from state oil company Petromoc, the only
distributor currently selling an unrestricted supply of fuel, local
media reported. Motorists in the capital Maputo have faced fuel
shortages for the past month as government and private suppliers do
battle over price controls which the companies say cost them 200
million dollars last year.
Petrol stations say they cannot afford to keep supplying fuel at low state-controlled prices, and pumps have begun running dry.
Long lines have formed at petrol stations as the fuel crisis has
deepened. The price controls currently cap a litre of unleaded at 89 US
cents, a price the government has said it plans to maintain. The
government has promised to pay subsidies to suppliers to offset the
price difference, but the Mozambican Association of Petroleum
Companies, or AMEPETROL, says no money has actually been paid out to
date.
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