EthioBlog

Ethiopia - Be stocked or lose license, Ministry warns fuel stations

By Groum Abate

Capital

The Ministry of Mines and Energy of Ethiopia (MoME) warned that it is going to revoke licenses of fuel retail stations if they are found empty in the coming week.

Minister of Trade and Industry (MoTI) Girma Birru, Alemayehu Tegenu, Minister of Mines and Energy (MoME), and Ahmed Tusa State Minister at MoTI as well as representatives of the Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise (EPE) discussed the current fuel shortage in Addis Ababa with general managers of the existing oil companies on Friday, November 21, 2008, at MoTI.

After the discussion, Alemayehu Tegenu forwarded a letter to oil companies advising that they solve their problem in the coming week starting from Monday, November 24, and that every station in Addis Ababa should be fully stocked with the newly ethanol-blended fuel. If the said stations are not “wet” in one week, licenses of the stations would be revoked.
The letter addressed to all oil companies operating in the country warned that the government would take appropriate measures on the stations following a surprise check if found empty. The minister further notified the companies to re-supply their stations everyday at anytime.


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