Panic buying |18 March 2020

Mrs Romain (Photo: Jude Morel)

Seypec reassures public it has adequate stock of LPG

• Announces 47 cent reduction in fuel price

There is no need for members of the public to rush and buy large quantities of cooking LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) as the Seychelles Petroleum Company (Seypec) is well stocked in the essential household commodity with up to six months reserves.

Seypec has also announced a reduction of 47 cents in fuel at the pump following the COVID-19 pandemic which has resulted in a drop in oil prices on the world market.

Sarah Romain, the general manager for commercial operations at Seypec, has reassured the Seychellois public that the company has adequate levels of LPG cooking gas in its reserves.

“As of today we have two and a half months stock of LPG in the country. A supply tanker will come in to top up our LPG tank this weekend thus raising our stock at the end of the week to six months,” said Mrs Romain.

She is advising members of the public to refrain from buying the commodity in panic which can be dangerous if not properly stored.

Mrs Romain said Seypec has learnt that over the weekend people have bought extra gas cylinders given the fear and panic brought about by the confirmation of the COVID-19 cases locally and this has resulted in some stations running out of stock by Sunday evening which is normal in view of the situation.

“We fill our cylinders on a daily basis and as of today all stations have replenished their stocks,” Mrs Romain explained.

Meanwhile Mrs Romain has also announced that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, fuel prices on the international market have gone down and as a result since last week Seypec has reduced its fuel price at the pump. Since last week the price of benzene has gone down by 47 cents. She noted that the lower price will also apply to the two oil shipments that Seypec is buying for the coming months up to May.

She pointed out that this is great news for consumers but stressed that the structure of the fuel prices at the pump remains the same.

Marie-Anne Lepathy