Tuesday, Aug 05, 2008

Abu Dhabi: Diesel will be sold at Abu Dhabi petrol stations through prepaid cards only from August 16, said a senior official at Adnoc Distribution, the sole distributor of petroleum products in the emirate.

The grace period is to allow people buy the prepaid cards.

The Rahal cards will be available in three categories.

In a statement, the unit of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said that though its service stations will start selling diesel through the Rahal e-diesel cards Tuesday, a grace period up to August 15 is being given to the public which will allow them to buy diesel with cash and enable them to apply for their Rahal cards.

"The stations will not accept cash for diesel purchases after August 15," a senior Adnoc Distribution executive, familiar with the developments, told Gulf News.

"This is being done to build a system for diesel transactions. We want to regularise a system for the purchase of diesel at the stations and to reduce congestion," he said.

A Dh50 issuance fee will be charged for all new Rahal e-diesel cards. There will be three Rahal categories - 600 gallons per month for cars, buses and trucks below three tonnes, 900 gallons a month for cars, buses and trucks heavier than three tonnes but up to five tonnes and 1,500 gallons per month for cars, buses and trucks above five tonnes.

All Rahal e-diesel cards must be paid in advance at the specific Adnoc Distribution service stations. Only cash will be accepted and the minimum recharge amount will be Dh100.

In case of card cancellation, a refund of the balance will only be made if the remaining amount is above Dh100.

Rahal e-diesel cards will be issued during working hours from 8am to 1pm at the Adnoc Distribution head office in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Western Region - Madinat Zayed and Sharjah (northern emirates). The cards will be also issued at 57 other locations designated by Adnoc Distribution, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. These locations are in Abu Dhabi, the Western Region, Al Ain and the northern emirates.

Adnoc's move follows a similar initiative taken last year by Emirates General Petroleum (EGPC) and Emirates National Oil Company - the two Dubai-based gasoline retailers - banning cash payments in order to promote their loyalty cards.

By Himendra Mohan Kumar

Gulf News 2008. All rights reserved.