Socotra.. Emirati company raises oil derivatives prices for the second time since the beginning of February

In less than two weeks, the prices of petroleum derivatives in the Socotra Archipelago Governorate have recorded a second increase, with the price of a can of gasoline (20 liters) reaching 44 thousand riyals (about twenty US dollars), and the price of a domestic gas cylinder reaching 27 thousand riyals.

The Socotra National Conference said in a statement on Tuesday that it is following "the deteriorating conditions in the Socotra Archipelago Governorate and the continuous decline day after day, as a result of the absence of state and local authority oversight and the inability to limit the manipulation of oil derivatives prices and raising them without any acceptable and logical justification."

The statement criticised "the failure to put in place alternatives that would prevent the monopoly of the sole investor who is not subject to any law and does not pay the taxes and customs due to the state, and imposes imaginary prices, which has brought the price of a 20-litre can of diesel and petrol to 44,000 riyals and gas to 27,500 riyals, which has exacerbated the living conditions and caused the suffering of our people in the Socotra Archipelago."

The Emirati company ADNOC monopolizes the oil derivatives market in the archipelago, which has been militarily and administratively controlled by the Southern Transitional Council, supported by Abu Dhabi, since June 2020.

On February 4, the prices of petroleum derivatives in Socotra witnessed an increase of 40,000 riyals for gasoline and 25,000 riyals for gas; prices that exceed by approximately 25% what the price is in the rest of the liberated governorates.

In its statement, the Socotra National Conference renewed its denunciation and condemnation of the position of the local authority in the governorate towards what is happening in the governorate, holding it responsible for provoking the feelings of citizens by raising prices in an exaggerated manner.

He also blamed the local authority for obstructing the supply of Yemeni oil and gas to the governorate and preventing its supply to the governorate from Hadhramaut, which suggests that the local authority is a major partner in this dilemma.

The statement stressed that what the local authority needs to do urgently to get out of this crisis is to "supply the governorate with oil derivatives and gas at reasonable prices and find other investors committed to providing the derivatives and subject to monitoring and accountability in the event of negligence."