Shortage of cooking gas affecting residents in Antigua and Barbuda
The buzz of the season is evident throughout St Johns and other areas around the island, but a lack of (Liquid Petroleum Gas) LPG on the island is threatening to dampen the Christmas Spirit.
One resident says he has been searching all weekend for a tank of cooking gas to no avail, and this is the reality for many Gas Stations and supermarkets across the country are display “no cooking gas” signs.
Chief Executive Officer of the West Indies Oil Company Gregory Georges has revealed that the scarcity is due to adverse weather conditions.
He said that “when the vessel arrived, those swells were in the region of 7 to 9 feet and the chief pilot in his wisdom deemed conditions too unsafe to be able to berth that vessel.”
Noting that safety is a top priority for the company, he revealed that “the vessel returned to Antigua and tried to get on, but the wind conditions worsened. It would have just been too risky.”
He also indicated that it would be too costly for the vessel to wait until the conditions improved.
Georges even said that WIOC has attempted to source cooking gas from other suppliers, but the conditions also affect other areas.
He said: “LPG is being affected by not just weather around here but bad weather in the gulf as well…it has been a challenge; we are working feverishly to get a supply shipped to us sooner, but it has been a challenge”.
However, Gasoline, Diesel, Jet Fuel, and heavy fuel oil are still available on the twin island.
Meanwhile, Georges assured residents that residents would have gas in time for Christmas.
The vessel should be returning on December 17, but WIOC intends to exhaust all of its options to get cooking gas on the island before the weekend.
0 Comment