The Rivers State Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has said the persistent fuel scarcity experienced across the state is because of the integrity tests being conducted on products.
Recall that the ministry had announced the arrival of a petrol laden vessel at the Port Harcourt depot last week Thursday.
However, despite the announcement, the scarcity has persisted across the state creating long vehicular queues in most filling stations mostly seen in Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor councils.
This has led to an increase in the price of transportation as many drivers have changed the fares they collect to different locations from N50 to N100, while some N100 to N200.
Many blamed it on the price being sold by some filling stations selling fuel at the rate of N220 per litre.
Explaining the continued scarcity in the state, the Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Dr Peter Medee said the delay was due to an integrity test that is to be conducted in the pipelines to determine that the new product is not good enough for vehicles.
He also said that due to the scarcity of petrol, the test was necessary to “check that there are no leakages.
The commissioner said immediately after the results is confirmed ok, the product will be dispatched.
