27 February 2017
Amman - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources dismissed as "baseless and misleading" claims that the government was making savings as much as JOD4.5 billion from fuel revenues and are not incorporated in the state's general budget.

Recently, a video went viral on social media platforms in which a person claims the government was making that amount from fuel sales in the local market. The ministry said in a statement issued today it will pursue legal action against those who disseminated such "misleading information".

The ministry also published the details of how fuel derivatives are priced as well as the costs that cover shipping, storage, refining, suppliers' profits and fees and taxes. It noted that the Kingdom's annual consumption of crude oil is 40 million barrels at a total cost of JOD6.4 billion.

The statement indicated that the total value of fuel revenues in 2016 amounted to JOD2.6 billion only and not JOD6.7 billion as it has been claimed. In the same year, the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) imported 2.978 million tons of crude oil and refined 60,000 barrels daily.

The imports covered 50 per cent of the Kingdom's diesel needs, 42 per cent of gasoline needs and 100 per cent of jet fuel and kerosene needs, while the rest was imported by the three main fuel companies Total Jordan, Manaseer Oil & Gas and the JPRC's Jordan Petroleum Products Marketing Company.

It explained that fuel prices are decided on a monthly basis using pricing mechanism that takes into account prices in international markets. Additionally, the ministry made it clear that the monthly pricing of fuel in the local market is not put based on the price of crude oil but on the prices of fuel derivatives in global markets.

© Jordan News Agency - Petra 2017