Fuel prices for September 2018 announced in Oman

Muscat: Fuel prices in Oman are now the highest they have been in 2018, it has been disclosed. This is the result of petroleum and diesel prices being increased for September, according to the price list released on the National Subsidy System website.
According to the new list, the price of M91 petrol has reached 218 baisas per litre, up from 214 baisas last month.
Meanwhile, M95 petrol will be priced at 229 baisas per litre, also higher than last month. Moreover, the price of diesel in September will also see a slight hike to 252 baisas per litre, up from 245 baisas in August.
Observers said that the spike was due to the deregulation of oil products.
“The hike is due to the deregulation of fuel prices. In fact, the de-regulation applies to all extractions of crude oil. So, as global oil prices go up, so do the fuel prices in Oman,”Alkesh Joshi, a partner at the accounting firm, Ernst and Young, said.
He added that while the hike means consumers will have to shell out more money, it will also translate to the government filling its coffers, which will put it in a stronger position to serve the people in an even better way.
“In the immediate short term, the consumer will have to spend more money at the filling station for his/her fuel needs, but there are advantages in the long term. De-regulation will mean the government earns more. This will mean that it can invest more in infrastructure, schools, hospitals and the like. It will be good for the country in that sense,”Joshi added.
“People can always be more efficient in managing their fuel expenses. Instead of a bunch of people wanting to take several cars to the same location, they could choose to share vehicles,” he said.
Car owners said that the hike was in keeping with their experience of having to pay increasingly more for fuel over the years.
“Of course, I’ve had to shell out more money for fuel over the years, and I own a jeep, which consumes a lot of fuel. But thankfully, the fuel card that I have, helps.”
“We used to have this joke with relatives back home in India. They used to say to us, bring some of that cheap fuel home when you come and we used to laugh about it. Petrol and diesel are still cheap here, but not as cheap as they used to be,” Indian expat Sneha Fernandes said.