Rush
for gasoline
By Roxanne Stapleton
Trinidad Express
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
11 26 06
Motorists line up to buy gas at an NP Station at
the corner of Park and Richmond Street yesterday.
THOUGH
there is no gas shortage, rumours of one sparked
yet another mad rush by motorists to service station
pumps across the country yesterday.
An
industrial relations stalemate resulted in workers
at National Petroleum (NP), downing their tools,
for the second time in as many months.
The
rush by motorists left major roads and highways
gridlocked by noon, as vehicle lines to service
stations were miles long.
However,
by 5 p.m. Nneka Luke, NP's Corporate Communications
manager, assured that workers had returned to the
job.
She
said that "the situation was being normalised
and they were ramping up deliveries", to fill
the gap of any shortfalls which may have arisen
during the day.
"They
will work through this evening, into the night and
over the weekend," Luke said.
She
also explained that NP immediately went into emergency
mode when workers downed their tools during the
morning, in a direct attempt to avert any gas crisis.
She
said that many contractors made additional efforts
to get fuel out to stations to bridge the gap.
A
company statement, added: "Even as we seek
to bring an amicable and speedy end to our negotiations,
NP assures our customers that our top priority remains
servicing the retail fuel needs of the citizens
of Trinidad and Tobago."
By
early afternoon maxi-taxi and taxi drivers were
sending signals that the travelling public would
experience hardship in getting home, as they were
considering making their last trips.
Attempts
by gas station attendants to calm worrying motorists,
did not quell anxieties, the Express understands,
as lines persisted.
Trinidad
Express
Saturday, November 25th 2006
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©2006 Trinidad Express . All Rights Reserved.
