Syndicate says work under way to meet rising demand for gas cylinders

AMMAN — After meeting with government officials, the Gas Station Owners Association (GSOA) said on Monday that the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) stations have begun working double shifts to cope with the growing demand for gas cylinders in the local market, specifically in Amman, Irbid and Zarqa. 

GSOA President Nahar Seidat said distribution agencies were unable to meet the growing demand because working hours at JPRC gas filling stations had been reduced to one shift, which resulted in limiting production capacity.

Seidat told The Jordan Times that for the first time in a long period, the Kingdom did not produce the required amount of gas cylinders, which raised the concerns of many citizens in the governorates.

The production capacity of the JPRC station in Amman will now reach around 100,000 gas cylinders, he explained

“If the employees and involved parties commit to the new regulations, we will reach the expected production capacity and fulfil the market’s needs and the demands of the association,” Seidat added.

The president said the association has reduced the number of gas cylinders sent to Amman, in order to increase the number distributed in the southern and northern governorates.

The two-shift system will soon be implemented in Irbid and Zarqa, he added.

Karak resident Zeid Mahadin told The Jordan Times that several households had contacted officials to resolve the shortage in gas cylinders but “there was no clear response to their demands”.

Another resident in Irbid, who preferred to remain unnamed, voiced her concerns as the winter season intensifies.

“Heaters and ovens are used more in winter since we spend more time at home and we need to keep the houses warm; we can’t afford having an insufficient number of gas cylinders, especially that we live in Irbid, not Amman,” she told The Jordan Times.

JPRC officials were unavailable for comment despite several attempts over three days by The Jordan Times.