DOHA • Diesel is still being sold on the black market despite the fact that Woqod (Qatar Fuel) has taken the necessary steps to end its shortage by augmenting supplies.

A senior official of a filling station was quoted by Al Sharq in a report as saying that some workers of petrol stations are supplying diesel to some shady operators whose sell the fuel on the black market.

These operators, in turn, sell diesel at a higher price to companies and projects which are in dire need of the fuel, the official said. "The only way we can check the black marketing of diesel is by keeping a close track of petrol station employees," he said.

There is a nexus between some filling station workers and the black marketeers and it is important to bust it if the trend is to be checked.

Woqod, sole distributors of petroleum products locally, had said at a news conference recently that it was aware that diesel was being sold by some on the black market.

It is illegal for a petrol station to sell diesel in bulk to tankers as supplies to them are provided by the designated Woqod contractors.

The company had also said that since diesel was being imported at a high price to meet the shortage locally, it was being sold at a subsidised rate of 70 dirhams per liter in retail to motorists and local companies.

But higher rates were being charged from foreign companies which were doing projects locally.

Meanwhile, an official of another petrol station said that for a filling station it was necessary to keep its reserves full since an empty or half empty tank would raise humidity levels, which can ruin the engine of the pumping machine.

But an official of yet another filling station said that higher humidity levels were caused by outdated storage facilities and not due to a tank being full or empty. Storage technologies have advanced but some petrol stations here are using the same old methods, he said.

The diesel shortage which continued for weeks left an adverse impact on many businesses and the threat that they would pass on the burden to end-users pushing the rate of inflation further up, still lurks.

Bakeries and bigger restaurants which use diesel-fired ovens were hit hard by the crisis and some of them may still not be getting adequate supplies.

The Director of the Standards and Measurements Authority, Dr Mohamed Saif Al Kuwari, has, meanwhile, hinted that standards may soon be specified for imported automobiles which run on diesel.

Shortage can affect the prices of diesel, says CMC member

DOHA • Despite the fact that Woqod has clarified recently that the prices of diesel and other petroleum products will not be increased, a prominent member of the Central Municipal Council (CMC) believes the recent crisis may eventually lead to a rise in diesel rates. "The shortage can affect the prices of diesel," Shahir Al Shummari told Al Sharq yesterday. "We urge Woqod not to increase the prices," he added. Woqod had, however, clarified at the press meet that it was not in its hands to increase fuel prices. It was up to the government to take a decision in this regard, the company had said.

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