“Has anyone put fuel in their car recently and can recommend a safe petrol station” is now a common question among some groups of friends in Egypt following incidents caused by cars breaking down when filled with substandard petrol.
While the Ministry of Petroleum initially denied there was a problem, saying no complaints had been filed, it later confirmed some non-compliant samples and urged those affected to lodge complaints via a dedicated hotline.
On 11 May, the ministry published reports of its analysis of 807 fuel samples taken in response to 870 complaints received nationwide between 4 and 9 May. The analysis revealed that five samples did not meet specifications, with two from the Greater Cairo area, one from the Alexandria region, and two from Upper Egypt.
The announcement followed 10 days of increasing public anxiety, largely fuelled by social media reports detailing damage to vehicle fuel pumps allegedly caused by substandard petrol.
In its Sunday statement, the ministry offered compensation of up to LE2,000 for those who had filed complaints between 4 and 10 May through the government hotline (16528) or Complaints Portal and could provide proof of vehicle ownership and a certified invoice for a fuel pump replacement.
On 13 May, the ministry said that those eligible for compensation should upload the required documents through the government Complaints Portal at www.shakwa.eg using their previously issued reference number.
Alternatively, documents could be submitted via WhatsApp to 01288816528 and 01222216528, it said.
The ministry said that all submitted applications would be reviewed according to pre-announced standards to ensure fairness, transparency, and the protection of consumer rights.
Cairo resident Ahmed Helmi’s car broke down on 1 May before the ministry officially acknowledged the problem. His experience highlights the challenges faced by some of those affected who might not possess the specific documentation required for compensation.
Helmi said that even if he had filed a complaint after the hotline announcement, he still would not have had an invoice. This was because he had not been able to have his car repaired at an authorised service centre where getting an invoice is straightforward.
Moreover, the compensation earmarked by the ministry does not cover the cost of the replacement pump, he said, let alone the repairs.
“It barely covers what I paid to have the car towed due to the demand for such services at the time,” Helmi said. He added that he would be willing to forego the compensation, but he wants to see the person responsible brought to justice to ensure that the problem does not happen again.
Regarding the seemingly low number of substandard samples compared to the high number of complaints and affected cars, Petroleum Ministry Spokesperson Moetaz Atef explained that a single positive sample could affect various stations and cause multiple complaints.
The ministry also did not disclose the reasons or details of such samples in its statements.
“The aim was to ensure transparency by announcing the initial results in a first phase, which only indicates whether the samples met the required specifications or not. The five positive samples are undergoing a more advanced level of analysis to determine the reason behind their poor quality and failure to meet the standards,” the spokesperson said.
He said the ministry was coordinating with various authorities, as it is not the sole entity responsible for fuel supplies in Egypt, in order to investigate those responsible for the substandard fuel.
The ministry’s acknowledgment of difficulties in pinpointing the exact cause of the fuel pump failures has done little to alleviate the immediate financial burdens and logistical hurdles faced by individuals like Helmi.
Mona Sami, another victim of the substandard fuel, said that she had initially thought that her car trouble was simply an individual problem. However, her perspective shifted when she was chatting with friends on a WhatsApp group and discovered that among her circle of 20 friends, a few of whom did not even own vehicles, seven had been forced to replace their fuel pumps within the preceding 48 hours.
This led her to the conclusion that it was a widespread issue and that the social media complaints were not exaggerated.
“I didn’t file a complaint because if I had done so only to face unreasonable conditions, low compensation, and complex procedures, it would just have added to my frustration,” Sami said.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 15 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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