The current stock of petroleum products covers up to two and a half months of domestic consumption, the president and CEO of the Tunisian Company of Refining Industries (STIR) Fekhta Mahouachi,said Thursday.

Shipments of 180 thousand tonnes of fuel (90 thousand tonnes of diesel and 90 thousand tonnes of gasoline) are expected starting Thursday, the official added during a field visit to the headquarters of the STIR in Bizerte organised for journalists, as part of the 2nd training session of Tunisian journalists on hydrocarbons in Tunisia.

“Despite the negative effects of the Russian-Ukranian war, Tunisia has been able to preserve the confidence of foreign suppliers,” she said, noting that “the payment of goods will be made one month after delivery.”

The CEO of the STIR has, in this context, to reassure Tunisians on the availability of petroleum products, stating that “there is no reason to worry about a possible shortage in the days ahead.

She noted in this regard that the state is making considerable efforts to cover the country’s needs in oil products despite the difficulties.

For her part, Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, Neila Nouira Gonji stressed, at the close of the session, the need to rationalise the consumption of petroleum products, stressing that petrol stations are supplied with fuel on a regular basis.

The Director General of Hydrocarbons at the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, Rachid Ben Daly had said Wednesday “Tunisia is currently using its strategic safety stock of petroleum products to meet demand and make petroleum products available.”’

“This situation is quite critical and constitutes a weekly battle especially since the scarcity of petroleum products, the current financial situation of Tunisia and the Ukrainian crisis weigh heavily on the state’s cash flow,” he told TAP on the sidelines of the 2nd training session for journalists held from June 28 to 30 in Tunis

Source: Tap News Agency