Adnoc puts new limits on diesel

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) announced new quotas on diesel sales yesterday, which one prominent haulage firm said would be a "disaster" for the industry in an already difficult year. Adnoc said lorry drivers would have 10 days from today to start paying for their fuel with an electronic card sold at its stations that will track sales and hold them to a monthly limit.

"Adnoc has been applying new criteria to limit the congestion at its stations all over the country caused by increasing demand for diesel," the company said. Lorry drivers from across the country have flocked to Adnoc's stations in Abu Dhabi and the northern emirates as competitors' prices have more than doubled in the past six months. A gallon of diesel at Eppco, Emarat and Enoc stations now sells for Dh18.25 (US$4.96) compared to Dh8.60 at Adnoc.

The new cards limit drivers of vehicles lighter than three tonnes to monthly purchases of 600 gallons. Drivers of lorries weighing between three and five tonnes will be able to purchase 900 gallons, while the heaviest vehicles will be restricted to 1,500 gallons. Adnoc had previously said it would issue the cards, but had not said when they would be introduced or by how much sales would be restricted.

Selwyn Burbridge, the general manager of Oman Transport Enterprise, a large haulage firm based in Dubai, said the limits for heavy vehicles would be too low because his lorries required between 3,500 and 4,000 gallons of diesel a month. "Clearly it's going to be a disaster," he said. Mr Burbridge said the haulier was in the midst of its worst year in the six that he had been with the company. His drivers were obliged to buy most of their diesel in Dubai, as the long queues at Adnoc stations made filling up difficult. Passing these costs on to clients had not been easy, he said.

"We're increasing rates on almost a weekly basis," he said. "As soon as you succeed in passing off the cost, something else comes around and kicks you again." Mr Burbridge said he hoped the Government would adopt a uniform price across the UAE. "I don't care how much the diesel costs, but it needs to cost the same price throughout the country," he said. In its statement, Adnoc did not specify any restrictions on who would be issued cards. An Adnoc official could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Mr Burbridge said he was sceptical that the process would be easy for his drivers, noting that as a Dubai company, he had never been able to set up a simple payment account at Adnoc, and his drivers now paid cash at the pump. In addition to restricting congestion at its stations, the Adnoc move could also be aimed at quashing a black market for diesel in Dubai and the northern emirates. Adnoc did not mention the black market in its statement, but several recent media reports have discovered lorry drivers who queue for hours at Adnoc pumps only to illegally sell the fuel in their tank to other drivers at a profit.

@Email:cstanton@thenational.ae