Sigh of relief as Sharjah pumps up more petrol stations

The government, in coordination with Adnoc, is working on setting up a large number of stations to cope up with the increasing number of population in the emirate.

Sharjah — The total number of petrol stations across Sharjah has gone up to 190, with the government bringing 30 more pumps — previously run by Emarat — under the management and supervision of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).

Following complaints from Sharjah residents regarding shortage of fuel due to the closure of 46 petrol stations owned by Enoc and Eppco, the Sharjah government has solved the issue by restarting some of them. Out of the 46 petrol stations that were closed down, 40 have started operating again under the Adnoc management, while six are still closed.

An Official at the Sharjah Department of Planning and Survey (SDPS) said that out of the 190 petrol stations, 108 stations are in the city, 17 in central areas (Al Dhaid), 15 in Al Bataeyeh, 12 in Al Madam, eight in Malaiha, nine each in Khorfukkan and Kalba, and four in Debbah Al Hisn. “The number of stations in the emirate is more than enough to supply petrol for residents in the emirate. There shouldn’t be any problem related to fuel shortage,” he said.

The government, in coordination with Adnoc, is working on setting up a large number of stations to cope up with the increasing number of population in the emirate.

The Adnoc is now also managing a huge fuel warehouse that previously belonged to Emarat Petroleum.

SDPS chairman Salah bin Butti said the department, during the last six years, provided 79 plots of lands to citizens to set up petrol stations, but those have not been used yet.

He urged the owners of the land to build pumps and help in accelerating the execution of the projects in coordination with Adnoc and other petrol distribution companies.

He said the growing number of petrol stations and geographical distribution will never let the emirate fall short of fuel.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, residents in Sharjah said that they suffered initially when a large number of stations were shut down, but the situation has improved and they are hopping for more petrol stations to open up.

Sharjah resident Maher Al Dabbi said: “I have been living in Sharjah for the past 30 years, and have never experienced shortage in any kind of services. The closure led to extraordinary confusion among motorists. There used to be long queues for refuelling, but it’s easy now due to the new pumps coming up.”

Shrikar Madu, another resident of Sharjah, said: ”Whenever there were long lines at the stations I used to drive to neighbouring emirates to fill petrol, but now there are two petrol stations located closed to my residence. I think the issue has been resolved.”

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com