Yemen’s southern port city and interim capital of Aden is undergoing a crisis in oil derivatives that has led to the closure of private and government-owned gas stations throughout January. 

Vehicle owners and residents in Aden told Almasdar Online that the price of 20 liters of petrol has reached 14,000 riyals (about $23) on the black market, about double the price of the same amount at government-regulated gas stations. 

Residents have been forced to buy their petrol from street dealers selling the fuel in plastic water bottles at busy intersections. 

State-owned Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC), controlled by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), and Aden refineries refused to comment on the ongoing fuel crisis. Security forces have not been able to crackdown on the spread of the black market fuel vendors. 

Earlier in January, the internationally recognized government in Aden accused the Houthis of manufacturing a fuel crisis in Sana’a. That doesn’t appear to have transpired.  

*Currency conversions in this article assume an exchange rate of 600 Yemeni riyals per $1