No fuel shortage in Oman despite surge in demand
Long queues seen on the road to Salalah in Oman due to unusual rush
Muscat: With slight drizzle bringing down temperatures to below 25 degree Celsius, Oman’s southern region has become a popular destination for holidaymakers in the country as well as a large number crossing over from UAE during the Eid Al Fitr holidays.
All roads led to Salalah since last Friday and hotels were packed with visitors from all over Oman as well as some of the GCC countries.
“We have travelled over 1,000km by road to enjoy this weather,” Dr Jai Shukla, Senior Orthopaedic Surgeon with the Sur Hospital in eastern region, told Gulf News from Mirbat, 60 km off Salalah.
He said that the southern towns are packed with visitors enjoying green mountains, rain and mist of autumn season. “There are queues everywhere, even to fill fuel at petrol stations,” he added.
The rush also triggered rumours of petrol shortage in Oman. The micro blogging web site Twitter and social media sites were abuzz on Monday with postings of long queues to fill fuel, especially in Haima, less than 400 km from Salalah.
However, by late evening the situation had improved with additional supply of fuel to petrol stations from Nizwa to Thumrait.
Nasser Bin Khamis Al Jashmi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, in a statement denied any fuel shortage in the country. “The production is on course,” he stressed.
“There’s no shortage in supply to the distribution companies,” he reiterated.
Musaab Bin Abdullah Al Mahrooqi, CEO of Oman Refineries and Petrochemicals Company, denied any suspension or shortage. “The shortage in some filling stations along Nizwa-Thumrait road was due to a recent rush during Eid holidays,” he said, adding that they had ensured to provide enough supply for the rest of the holidays.
“There enough fuel for everyone at Ghaba fuel station,” Mohammad Al Shraji said on Twitter, just before reaching Haima yesterday morning.
The Royal Oman Police (ROP), meanwhile, have appealed to road users to be careful on wet roads as it has been raining in Salalah, where mountains make driving tricky. On Monday an Indian woman and an infant died when their UAE-registered car rolled seven times after a tyre burst in Thumrait area.
