Oman- New fuel rates announced; Cooking gas not to cost more

1/12/2016 1:27:22 AM

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat-

The committee in charge of studying and fixing the price of oil products on Monday approved the new rates which will be in force from January 15 to 31.

The price of M95 (super) petrol for the period has been fixed at 160bz per litre while M90 (regular) will cost 140bz and diesel will be priced at 160bz per litre H E Eng Salim bin Nasser al Oufi Undersecretary in the Ministry of Oil and Gas said.

In a statement to the media H E Oufi said that aviation fuel price will remain unchanged because it is not subsidised by the government. Cooking gas price will also remain unaffected.

The prices will be standard at all filling stations across the sultanate. He added that the committee will meet every month to fix the prices and may maintain the same rates if the global prices are close to those in the local market.

The Public Authority for Consumer Protection will ensure that all filling stations comply with the rates announced.

Anticipating the hike several businesses have worked out how they will balance their expenditure while some individuals are calculating how much will switching from super to regular petrol will help their savings.

'It won't affect us much. We have done an evaluation of how we spend. Earlier we used to measure the cost by distance but now we'll do so by amount. We'll curtail travel' said Prakash Shenoy finance head at a logistics company.

He said that for his company switching to regular petrol was never a consideration.

'Quality-wise I don't think we'll go for regular. We can't compromise on these things. We'll just reduce the amount of kilometres we drive.

That's how we'll balance it.'

Because high-octane petrol comes with a few advantages some vehicle owners like Abhailash Menon are in two minds about downgrading to regular petrol. 'I haven't decided yet though I may do so' he said.

Nizar Ahmed manager at Mark Tours said the price increase would affect his business. 'Our company has a fleet of over 400 vehicles and this hike will affect many of our divisions. However we have taken measures anticipating the increase in fuel prices' he said.

Musalam Salem Nasser al Harthi a taxi driver from Bidbid said that the drivers would surely hike rates. 'Currently the rates for routes are not fixed. Authorities should set tariffs so that cab owners benefit and passengers are not exploited' he said.

Khalid Humaid al Badi a taxi driver from Saham said 'The fuel price rise will be hard on me. My taxi is my only source of income. Some may find the hike nominal but it's surely going to affect my personal budget.'

Badi drives between Sohar and Muscat and ferrying four passengers to and fro once earns him RO16. 'I am left with no option but to increase the fare to cover the petrol expenses.'

Meanwhile Ahmed bin Ali al Balushi CEO of Mwasalat said 'There will be no hike in bus fares for any of the routes this year.'

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