There are reports that petrol stations in Dubai and the northern emirates are closed or running dry, just over a month after Emarat customers were turned away from the pumps.
The weekend saw closures at many Eppco and Enoc stations in Umm al Quwain, while motorists complained that Emarat stations in Sharjah were closed “for maintenance”.
When Emarat closed its petrol stations in April due to “technical difficulties”, its rival stations in Dubai struggled to cope with the extra demand, exposing Dubai and the northern emirates fragile fuel infrastructure.
Ironically this time, Emarat found itself responding to the extra demand. A petrol pump attendant at one of its stations in Sharjah told The National newspaper that it had run out of fuel because of the extra traffic.
“We have had a lot of traffic, almost selling double what we used to sell before,” claimed the attendant . “This is probably the reason we run short of fuel at night. I found the place cordoned off with barricades for maintenance when I came for my shift this morning.”
While the Emarat stations have now refuelled, motorists reported that there were huge queues due to four pumps closed in the Greens district of Dubai on Monday morning.
Eppco and Enoc spokesman Khalid Hadi admitted that the influx of Sharjah motorists in Dubai, “has created even more pressure on our network.”
“We are trying to secure more products to the sites in Dubai, especially those which are closer to the borders. We haven’t seen much of a sales drop in terms of fuel. Maybe only one or two stations in Dubai [sold out], and only then for one or two hours maximum. This is because of the volume being shifted from Sharjah to the Dubai side, especially the stations nearest the border,” told The National.
There could yet be more problems for motorists as Hadi added that the stations were undergoing the installation of improved dispensing equipment which was “continuing as planned and would take several months to complete”.
“Work is still ongoing. Aside from Sharjah and Ajman, we have also started work on stations in Umm al Qaiwain and Fujaira
