Gathering of cars in front of a gas station in Saida, in southern Lebanon, on June 18, 2022. (Credit: Mountasser Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Queues started to form Saturday at numerous gas stations in Saida amid rumors of a looming fuel crisis, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the area reported.
Here’s what we know:
• Fears of shortages led drivers to pile up at stations, while a number stations were already closed as they await new fuel prices set by the Energy Ministry and aligned with the parallel market dollar rate.
• In light of the economic crisis Lebanon is facing and the depreciation of the lira, fuel prices regularly increase, with 20 liters of gasoline now costing around LL700,000.
• On Friday, gas station owners’ syndicate spokesperson Georges Brax said Banque du Liban intended to completely remove fuel subsidies without giving a timeline for the change. In 2021, long queues formed at gas stations leading to hourslong waits for drivers across Lebanon.