Sheikh Mishal bin Jabor al-Thani, chairman of the Fuel Prices Review Committee at the Ministry of Energy and Industry, said: “Fuel prices in the local market will be restructured and linked to oil products prices in the international market.”
Every month, he said, a special committee comprising representatives from various government bodies, would review fuel prices (gasoline and diesel) and make recommendations on proposed prices for the local market accordingly.
Sheikh Mishal said “pricing would be based on a formula that takes into consideration price changes of oil products in the global market, operational costs related to fuel production and distribution in the local market and fuel prices in the region”.
The chairman emphasised that “monthly adjustments do not mean that prices will necessarily be increased, but rather linked to and affected by the movement, up and down, of the actual fuel prices in the global market.”
Monthly prices will be published by the end of each month on the ministry’s official website (www.mei.gov.qa) and in all local newspapers, but will be enforced as of 12:01am on the first day of each month, starting May 1.
Sheikh Mishal bin Jabor al-Thani: chairman of the Fuel Prices Review Committee.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Industry, the fuel price in Qatar in May would be as follows: gasoline (super 97) QR1.30/litre, gasoline (premium 90) QR1.15 and diesel QR1.40.
This means the gasoline price next month would remain the same as of now.
In January, Woqod had announced a revision in fuel prices, the first one in five years.
Under this, the price of gasoline super 97 was increased to QR1.30 a litre, an increase of 30% from QR1 previously and the price of gasoline premium 90 to QR1.15 from Dh85 earlier, a hike of 35%.
However, no increase in diesel prices was made at that time.
In 2014, Qatar raised diesel prices for the first time in three years by raising the price from QR1/litre to QR1.50 for local companies and QR1.80/litre for joint ventures.
The earlier rate of QR1 a litre had been effective since late January 2011 when distributors suddenly raised the prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene.
Fuel prices in Qatar are still among the most affordable in the world.
Qatar was among the last countries in the region to raise fuel prices early this year. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Oman revised their respective fuel prices upwards since mid-2015, following the fall in crude oil prices in the international market.
