The fuel shipment which comes into the country every three weeks is four days late this month - and some service stations are saying they'll run out of gas before it arrives. Diesel and Premium fuels are already being rationed but the UNO fuel company says that a good many of its 11 service stations countrywide will be out of those fuels by the time the shipment comes. That fuel will start to run out tomorrow, most likely, in San Ignacio.
The man we call Belize's Fuel Czar, John Mencias, who is the Deputy Chairman of Alba Petrocaribe Belize Energy Limited oversees the importation of fuel into Belize. He concedes that the shipment is late but he doesn't expect that it should force a shortage. A number of fuel station owners we spoke to said it is a matter of management. They told us that rationing is happening but fuel station owners should plan in advance and keep their reserves topped up. So far, we know that at least 2 fuel stations: one in Punta Gorda and the other in Belmopan have run out of premium and diesel. UNO says it is only being rationed about 20% of its daily fuel needs and so has had to turn back large customers. Of course, its significant that PUMA, the importer of fuels is also the one controlling the rationing - and PUMA also has fuel stations - which some say is a rather obvious conflict of interest.
We'll keep monitoring the situation because the fuel shipment does not arrive until Saturday.
Annually, March is the month in which the most fuel is consumed.
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