Diesel used to be the cheap alternative to gasoline but in July when
it hit $11.74, it became more expensive than regular and premium gas. It has
since dropped to $10.50 which is a decrease but still a long way from the $8
per gallon of diesel we were paying a year ago. And that steep price –
is why it’s news that there is a gas station selling diesel for under
ten dollars a gallon. Our search led us to the Burrell Boom Road and Keith Swift
has the story.
Keith Swift Reporting,
The diesel is available for sale in this yard off the Burrell Boom Road. It
doesn’t look like a gas station because it isn’t. But you can get
diesel here for $9.95 cents a gallon – which is 55 cents less per gallon
than at the gas station. Fill up a 120 gallon tank like this Prado and you save
over ten dollars.
Peter Techrioeb, Central Products Limited
“We sell diesel at the moment. It is $9.95 here at the pump at the
moment.”
Keith Swift,
Where is it coming from?
Peter Techrioeb,
“We actually refine it. We make it here in Belize.”
And the “we” is Peter Techrioeb and his father. They refine the
crude oil from BNE, into diesel which they say is just as good – and maybe
even better than the diesel at gas stations. Techrioeb is so sure because he
uses it in his Toyota Prado.
Peter Techrioeb,
“We believe it is the same quality, this is good. We’ve only
been selling for the last three weeks but we’ve been testing it ourselves
and for the last six months we’ve been using it in our small vehicles
and they’ve been running beautifully. No problems, no smoke, no build-ups
and we’re actually getting more mileage to the gallon than the regular
diesel. I am assuming it is because there is more lighter oils in there.”
Jules Vasquez,
So you’re saying because it is a superior grade, marginally perhaps, of
diesel it burns more efficiently?
Peter Techrioeb,
“That’s right.”
And Techrioeb says the diesel could be even less if government would cooperate.
Peter Techrioeb,
“It is our own product, it comes out of the ground in Belize and we’re
refining it here so the money stays, it doesn’t go out and I think that’s
the most valuable thing you can ever ask for. They should be lenient on the
local producer like any other producer, like a chicken producer. It is the same
thing, they should give them a tax incentive. I believe that, yeah.”
On an average day, Techrioeb sells about 1,500 gallons from this pump.
Teichroeb says they currently supply customers in the productive and
transportation sectors. You can buy diesel from them on the Burrell Boom Road
but they stress that location is not a gas station. They hope to start distributing
their refined diesel to the 25 independent gas stations which are located across
the country. They anticipate that their retail price will drop shortly in the
next few weeks.
For background, we note that they purchase crude oil from Belize Natural
Energy at US$101 per barrel, US$10 beneath the world crude price. They are lobbying
government to assist them in getting it at $80 per barrel considering the benefits
will accrue to Belizeans. They pay the same taxes that the oil imported by Esso
pays.
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