Drivers line up at a gas station in central Beirut on March 7, 2021. (Credit: Kim Makhlouf/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — No updated fuel prices were published Wednesday, despite the fact that global oil prices fell below $100 per barrel on Tuesday, because the employees of the Directorate General of Petroleum went on a strike today, Gas Station Owners' Syndicate spokesperson George Brax told L’Orient Today.
Here’s what we know:
• Brax explained that the responsibility of calculating the new fuel prices whenever there is change falls on the employees of the Directorate General of Petroleum, an organization linked to the Energy Ministry.
• Opposition-backed member of parliament Mark Daou told L’Orient Today that he questioned the default on releasing updated fuel prices today, despite the fact that global oil prices fell below $100 per barrel on Tuesday for the first time in three months, pointing out that “the employees have been on strike for weeks” and have been issuing updated fuel prices, nonetheless.
• Public administration employees in Lebanon have been on an open strike since June 13 to demand an increase in salaries and for the caretaker government to take other measures to help them cope with deteriorating living conditions.
• However, Brax noted that the employees of the Directorate General of Petroleum haven’t been taking part in the above-mentioned open strike. “They only striked today,” he said, adding that it’s a one-day strike.