FIJI’S total fuel stock available on land stands at 42.1 million litres as of Monday this week (April 27).
And a recent shipment last Wednesday (April 22) of about 17.2m litres have replenished stock levels that had been consumed.
When combined with the remaining confirmed shipments arriving this month, the total consumed fuel available to the economy is 67.44m litres.
Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport Ro Filipe Tuisawau revealed the statistics in his ministerial statement in parliament yesterday on the present fuel crisis that is causing global disruptions driven by geopolitical tensions and supply constraints.
He said the national daily consumption, averaging approximately 2.5m litres, placed the country’s current storage level at about 49.7 per cent of total onshore tank capacity.
“Looking ahead to the end of the month, the Ministry projects that stock levels will reduce to approximately 29.2m litres, representing 29 per cent of total storage capacity,” Ro Filipe said.
He said that reduction was not a cause for alarm saying it was a normal and deliberate function of the supply chain.
“Fuel inventories must be drawn down to create the necessary ullage, that is, empty storage space to safely receive incoming shipments scheduled for May.
“In terms of our outlook for May and June, I am advised that a significant volume of fuel, 118.55 billion litres, has already been paid for with final shipping confirmations being done.”
Ro Filipe said that was a routine commercial process as shipping schedules were finalised.
He said based on current expectations, a substantial portion of this fuel would arrive in early May, with a further 17.2m litres confirmed for June.
He added as those shipments arrived as scheduled, they anticipated the national stock levels to recover and exceed 59 per cent of storage capacity by the end of May.
Ro Filipe said the Ministry continued to conduct daily monitoring of stock levels and consumption patterns in real time and maintaining active engagement with suppliers to expedite confirmation of shipment arrival dates.
He said they were also strengthening contingency preparedness by identifying additional buffer storage capacity, which included 5.52m litres at retail service stations and 7.2m litres at Energy Fiji Limited facilities, along with other available depots.
“The Government wishes to assure all Fijians that fuel supplies are being managed prudently and responsibly, while temporary reduction in stock levels is expected at the end of this month.
“This is a routine part of the fuel import cycle and is necessary to accommodate incoming shipments.”
Ro Filipe said the situation remained stable but required close and continuous monitoring.
