The Governor of Baja California says enough diesel is on the way to Tijuana to end the shortage in the city. This comes after Mexico’s oil monopoly cut the region’s supply fearing U.S. drivers were draining the tanks of Mexico’s subsidized fuel. KPBS reporter Amy Isackson has the story.
Baja California business and government officials flew to Mexico City to meet with heads of Mexico’s oil company PEMEX.
Baja California Governor Jose Guadalupe Osuna Millan says since a boat carrying diesel arrived last month, sufficient supply has been there at there at PEMEX’s tanks in Rosarito.
Osuna Millan says PEMEX representatives say they simply haven’t had enough trucks to deliver the fuel to stations quickly enough to meet increased demand. But Osuna says PEMEX will add deliveries to reduce the shortage by this weekend.
Since diesel prices in the U.S. have skyrocketed, PEMEX says demand for diesel in Tijuana has surged about 40 percent.
With Mexico’s government subsidy, diesel there costs about $2.20 a gallon.
While many gas station owners, like Joaquin Aviña applaud PEMEX’s decision they predict it’ll take a month before diesel supply is back to normal.
Further, Aviña doubts PEMEX’s explanation of the shortage.
Aviña says the hiccups like distribution problems that PEMEX has blamed for choking off supply are all excuses. He says really PEMEX officials just don’t want to see their subsidized gas escape north to the U.S.
Aviña says demand from drivers north of the border is up. But he says its because people from Tijuana who work or live in San Diego and used to fill up there, now do so in Tijuana to save money.
Meanwhile, PEMEX doesn’t profit from increased demand. Instead, the more subsidized gas PEMEX sells, the more money they lose.
Amy Isackson, KPBS News.
