FUEL TROUBLES * China - Struggles With Fuel Crunch
Bus drivers in the bustling southern province of Guangdong have a new daily chore: Hunting for dieselBeijing,China -AP, by JOE McDONALD -3 Nov 2007: -- Amid widespread shortages, service stations allow drivers just a few quarts at a time, forcing buses to stop repeatedly to fill up while passengers fume, said Dai Guowei, an employee of the Zhaoshang Passenger Transport Co....
Companies across China are hurting amid diesel shortages blamed on price controls that force oil refiners to lose money on each barrel they process. That's prompted them to cut back on production... The government raised prices Thursday by nearly 10 percent to curb demand and encourage refiners to produce more. But it gave no sign it will change what analysts say is the root of the problem: an antiquated system of state-set prices that encourages waste and distorts business decisions by oil suppliers... China's problem is self-inflicted. After three decades of economic reforms, Beijing still sets one-third of prices, including the price of electric power, gasoline and cooking oil. But that clashes with the free-market reality of China's oil refiners, which must pay record-high prices for crude on the world market... The fuel shortages have hit trucking companies hard, disrupting their service and delaying deliveries... (AP Photos: 1- Above: People line up to buy diesel fuel at a gas station in Hangzhou, in east China's Zhejiang province in this Oct. 30, 2007 file photo. Companies across China are hurting amid diesel shortages blamed on price controls that force oil refiners to lose money on each barrel they process. That's prompted them to cut back on production - 2- Below: Vehicles queue up to buy diesel fuel at a gas station in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu Province in this Oct. 29, 2007 file photo. Companies across China are hurting amid diesel shortages blamed on price controls that force oil refiners to lose money on each barrel they process. That's prompted them to cut back on production)Labels: fuel troubles
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