M91 FUEL PRICE FREEZE SPARKS RUSH AT PUMPS

With the rise in fuel prices, motorists are leaving super grade and going for regular grade to cut costs

MUSCAT: Freezing the cost of M91 in Oman has sparked a fuel rush among motorists, according to petrol pump owners and residents.

Since the removal of subsidies last year, daily commuters had voiced concerns over repeated rises in fuel prices with no end in sight.

A government led price freeze of M91 was announced last month, and since then many mo- torists have decided to permanently shift to low grade fuel and sales have soared.

Sales of M95 at some filling stations have dropped by as much as 30 per cent, according to owners.

Production of M91 petrol grew by a staggering 59 per cent in January this year when compared to the same time last year. M95 production grew by a mere four per cent. “Four in ten motorists coming to the fuel station ask for regular fuel when compared to one in ten a year ago,” said Mohammed Shafiqul Islam Bhuiyan, who manages a petrol pump at Ghala, said.

“The reason why people are still filling super grade fuel now is that they don’t understand how cars work and feel filling cheaper fuel may destroy their engine overtime. It is only a matter of time when they will change their ideas about it or will be forced to change if prices of fuel keep rising,” said a petrol pump manager at Ruwi. Some premium car owners have also started to shift to M91. “I know how engines work. Filling an M91 is going to do nothing bad to my car. The performance may be lowered a bit but I am not interested to pay money to accelerate my car a bit faster than usual,” Faisal Mohammed, a Mercedes owner said.

“I am glad that M91 prices are frozen. We can at least know how much we are spending on fuel without having to think about it every time we fill the tank. I think most people in Oman have changed to low grade fuel. There is no point especially after the freeze to still fill your tank with super,” Fatma Khan, a resident said.

“I don’t know why the prices are going up continuously. I know there is a problem with the economy of Oman but fuel prices affect poor people like us,” Omar Ahmed, a taxi driver said.