GUYANA Oil Company service stations will have a full supply of fuel by tomorrow, with the arrival of a new shipment according to head of the Guyana Energy Agency Joseph O’Lall.

Most GUYOIL service stations have been forced to cease operations after increased demand for cheaper fuel caused supplies to run out, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said yesterday.

The company has been providing a cheaper alternative for consumers, selling at the lowest possible price (about $100 a gallon below prices at other companies.)

Yesterday, drivers continued to queue up at the Kitty gas station in Georgetown, the only GUYOIL outlet that was selling fuel.

Since Friday the GUYOIL service stations at Sheriff Street, Georgetown, Victoria, East Coast Demerara, and Providence, East Bank Demerara were without fuel.

Many drivers were forced to turn back from those stations as attendants erected `no entry’ barriers when the fuel ran out.

This was a repeat of the shortage earlier this month when the state-owned company had to close its services stations after fuel stocks ran out.

Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manzoor Nadir is urging Guyanese to begin to conserve on fuel because of continually rising fuel prices on the world market.

“I do not see world fuel prices coming back down for the next six months,” the minister told GINA.

He added that Guyanese must face the reality of high fuel prices and adjust their lifestyles and means of production to minimise on fuel consumption.

The minister noted that over the past 36 months, fuel prices have moved from $480 to almost $640 a gallon.

The Government of Guyana reduced the consumption tax on gasoline by 20 per cent after the recent world fuel price hike.

Trawler owners have been calling on the government to similarly reduce the tax on diesel.

However, Nadir said that the C-tax on diesel is only 20 per cent and the only alternative would be to remove the tax.

On the issue of fare increases by mini-bus owners and taxi drivers, he contended that there is still no justification for higher fares.

Crude oil futures rose Friday, ending the biggest rally week in three months, as traders worried about gasoline supplies in the summer.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil futures for June delivery rose 1.19 dollars to end at 55.39 dollars a barrel. Meanwhile, on London’s International Petroleum Exchange the June Brent crude-oil futures contract added 96 cents to settle at 54.97dollars per barrel, Xinhua news agency reported.

A number of American largest refineries reported shutdowns after maintenance. This development threatened to curb gasoline supplies, the agency said.

The U.S. gasoline inventories had declined by 5.7 per cent since the end of February, more than double the five-year average, boosting demand for crude oil, Xinhua said.

“Gasoline demand is strong and that’s bullish for crude,” said an American oil manager. “I have not yet seen people stop driving here in the U.S. because of higher prices.”

A New York-based oil broker added that prices would head for a record of 59 dollars a barrel if the futures rose above 56.45 dollars a barrel. “If we close above 56.45 dollars, you’re talking about new highs.”
More analysts expected the rally in oil prices will continue this week.