business

Oil firm fined $20,000

Oil company Chevron-Texaco was notified yesterday that it will be punished with a $20,000 fine for delaying the delivery of fuel to gas stations supplied by the former Panama Refinery in Colón.

The fine was announced by Wolfram González, the national director of hydrocarbons in the Ministry of Energy, who said that he gave the company a deadline of Dec. 23 to present a plan to increase fuel deliveries by adding staff and equipment.

Chevron-Texaco has expressed to the authorities that everything is operating normally. However, petrol stations and transporters are complaining that the company’s monopoly has created a shortage.

Last week, inspectors performed a check of oil inventories, and found that the supplies were, indeed, below mandated levels. Industry experts said the shortage has been caused by increased demand due to lower fuel prices.