Description

Egypt has been in the grips of an on-again, off-again fuel shortage for over a year now, with massive lines outside gas stations across the country causing headaches for drivers and sometimes even violent confrontations.

It is frequently portrayed by the Petroleum Ministry as a passing trouble to be dealt with in a matter of days, but the problem, which many blame on the political unrest of the last year and a half, has much deeper roots than the government’s petroleum authority lets on.

The ministry has actively worked to hide the country’s petrol shortage and may even be lying about the amount of gasoline it distributed to avoid blame for the devastating and long-term lack of fuel.