Petroleum Prices Have Surged by Over 20%, Not 4% as Claimed By LPRC Employee

In Summary:

Abubakar Corneh of the LPRC has claimed in a Facebook post that Liberia recorded one of the lowest petroleum price increases globally at just 4.9% despite the crisis in the middle east.

However, a review of official LPRC price circulars shows that pump prices rose from $4.33 to $5.78 for diesel and from $4.02 to $4.87 for gasoline between January and mid-March.

This reflects increases of about 33% for diesel and 21% for gasoline, making Corneh’s claim incorrect.

On March 21, Abubakar Corneh, an employee of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC), claimed that despite the global surge in petroleum prices driven by the war in the Middle East, Liberia had recorded one of the lowest increases at just 4.9%.

Corneh made this claim in a Facebook post, in which he shared what appears to be a global ranking of petroleum price increases.

He attributed what he described as “notable stability” to the “strategic leadership and sound management of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC), under the direction of Amos Tweh.”

According to him, “through effective oversight, supply chain coordination, and prudent pricing mechanisms,” the Tweh administration has worked diligently to “cushion the impact of global market volatility on the Liberian people.”

The Claim

An excerpt of his post reads: “Despite the global surge in petroleum prices influenced by tensions surrounding Iran, Liberia continues to stand out with one of the lowest increases at just 4.9%.”

Rating Justification

To verify this claim, we reviewed petroleum price circulars issued by the LPRC before and during the recent global price surge linked to the Middle East conflict.

The Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) is the government agency responsible for importing, storing, and regulating the pricing structure of petroleum products in Liberia. As such, its official circular serves as the authoritative reference for petroleum prices in the country.

According to a circular issued on January 8, before the escalation of tensions in Iran, the retail pump price for gasoline was $4.02, while diesel was $4.33.

These prices remained unchanged until March 5, when the LPRC announced an increase in diesel to $4.88, while maintaining the gasoline price at $4.02 following the onset of the crisis.

Nine days later, on March 14, the LPRC announced further increases, raising the price of diesel by $0.90 to $5.78 and gasoline by $0.85 to $4.87.

This represents a total increase of $1.45 for diesel and $0.85 for gasoline, corresponding to percentage increases of approximately 33% and 21%, respectively.

Conclusion

Based on these findings, the claim by Abubakar Corneh that Liberia experienced only a 4.9% increase in petroleum prices due to the crisis in the Middle East is incorrect.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in the region, LPRC pump prices have risen by about 33% for diesel and 21% for gasoline, not 4.9% as claimed.