Jordan: Amman’s November Fuel Crisis · Global Voices
Mohammad Azraq

When Jordan's government proposed adjusting fuel prices according to the rise and fall in the international markets on a weekly basis, gas station owners protested and for a period of about 10 days refused to buy fuel from the main refinery demanding that prices are to be adjusted on a monthly basis. That, in turn, resulted in a severe shortage in fuel from many gas stations in Amman. Bloggers picked up the issue, and here is what some of them had to say…
In a post entitled ‘Falling Short: Amman’s November Gas Crisis!‘ on 7iber.com, Naseem Tarawneh writes:
What is perhaps interesting, at least from my point of view, is that this sudden crisis comes nearly a year after the government decided to lift fuel subsidies. The result has been a painstaking year for the average Jordanian as globally, a barrel of oil reached over $120 driving up local prices to unbearable amounts. The digits on the pumps have only very recently sunk to less than half that figure, in line with the impact of the global financial crisis. However, since the controversial lifting of fuel subsidies in Jordan, some might argue that station owners enjoyed a relatively decent killing in the market for a fairly long time. It is only now that stations are forced to sell consumers at the government-set rate, meaning a relative loss for them, that the industry’s muscles are being flexed. One important question remains: will we see a return of a limited subsidy granted by the government to station owners in order to get them back running, or will we simply see bankruptcies in the industry flowing like tumbling dominoes? Will stations be fined or is another compromise in the works?
Jad Madi said:
Two hundred and sixty gas station owner were able to impose their wishes on the government while the last found itself compelled to switch back to the monthly pricing system although they were about to install the weekly pricing system in favor of the six million citizen or we prefer to think like that.
For better coverage maybe you want to check Alghad or Jordantimes but my question is, do we have a government that is strong enough to protect the 6 million citizen from the greedy-businessmen starting from gas station business ending with shawerma?
And Jordanian popular cartoonist Emad Hajjaj brought up the issue in a humorous cartoon: