Kralendijk- Dismay at the side of gas station operators in Bonaire caused a brief closure of 3 gas stations on the island. The only gas station which stayed open, is the one operated by Curoil itself (Mentor).

Operators were upset about the fact that fuel quality leaves much to be desired. According to Tobias de Boer, General Manager at Bonaco, there have been issues with the quality of fuel, ever since the fuel is purchased from other sources than the ISLA refinery in Curaçao. According to De Boer, gas contains unwanted particles, while the diesel often contains water.

What ticked the gas station operators off the most, was the lackluster reaction of both Curoil and local Government, once notified of the problems. “Curoil tries to pass the blame on us, stating that our storage tanks are dirty. This however, is not the case” said De Boer.

The anger on the side of the gas station operations lead to a short interruption of service this morning. The operators stated that they would not resume operations, as long as their complaints were not seriously looked into.

The action taken apparently was effective, because both Curoil and Government sat down with the gas station operators and hammered out a temporary solution. Curoil will, for now, absorb the cost of the abnormal filter usage. Governor Rijna on the other hand promised an independent study into the fuel quality.

The three closed pumps opened back to the public shortly after 2 PM this afternoon.