The Petrol and Gas Station Owners Association will file a lawsuit in the coming days against the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company unless the company returns or replaces, at its own expense, gas cylinders to gas distributors, the association deputy head Mohammad Qatawneh said on Tuesday.
“The distributors pay the refinery JD520,000 to maintain, fix and replace the damaged cylinders annually,” said the association official.
Since October, the refinery has seized 1,618 gas cylinders because they violate safety regulations. According to a refinery official, who preferred not to be named, the company will replace only 361 cylinders.
“The step is in line with a letter issued recently by the Ministry of Power and Mineral Resources,” said the official.
Qatawneh stressed that the association is keen to abide by public safety regulations, but that the refinery should replace and/or fix all 1,618 cylinders.
According to Qatawneh, the overall cost of replacing the damaged gas cylinders is not more than $15,000. “It is not a big price compared to what the [refinery] achieves annually in profits,” he said.
The cylinders are either imported or locally manufactured. Consumers pay JD25 as a deposit on each gas cylinder. The cost to replace an empty cylinder with a full one is around JD2.
By Khalid Dalal
( Jordan Times )
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
