Dubai petrol stations end round-the-clock services

DUBAI // In an attempt to cut costs, five Enoc and Eppco petrol stations in the emirate will no longer be open round-the-clock.

The sites that from tomorrow will operate only from 6am until midnight are the Enoc stations in Al Aweer and on Ittihad Road near Gargash Roundabout, and the Eppco stations opposite Dubai Airport Free Zone Metro station in Al Qusais, on Al Wahida Road near Century Mall, and on Jumeirah Road opposite Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

“As part of our cost and operational optimisation measures, we have been monitoring the night footfall at our stations,” said Burhan Al Hashemi, the managing director of Enoc Retail. “We have identified several sites that are ably supported by nearby stations and have relatively low footfall at night.

“We have therefore introduced a revised work shift at these stations during the night hours.” The company said it would evaluate the results of its revised timings regularly.

There are 83 Enoc and Eppco stations in Dubai.

In May last year, there were petrol shortages in Sharjah when the Enoc group stopped restocking its Eppco and Enoc stations over a fuel-subsidies dispute. The stations were later closed by the Sharjah Government.

pkannan@thenational.ae