Lafazanis Slams TA NEA Report over fuel shortages in case Greece leaves Euro

Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Panagiotis Lafazanis on Friday slammed reports stating that he had instructed Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE) to prepare an emergency plan to secure Greece’s petroleum supplies for a period of nine months, should Greece be forced out of the euro.

According to a report in the (PASOK backed) Ta Nea newspaper, ELPE’s rumored emergency plan involved three phases. At first Greece’s strategic three-month reserves would be used, while in the second phase the refineries would purchase petroleum to last for a further three months. Finally, in the third phase, ELPE would acquire crude oil and pay suppliers with refined products.

On Friday press reports quoted Lafazanis as noting that the reports are nothing more than a “figment of a morbid imagination”, since ELPE already has a policy of maintaining and planning petroleum reserves. Anything else, said Lafazanis, is “aimed at terrorizing the Greek people” and only serve “unacceptable intentions”.

On his part, the managing director for ELPE Grigoris Stergioulis told the state news agency ANA-MPA that European directives provide that his company must secure fuel reserve for 90 days, adding that it is standard practice for companies to secure reserves to last more than three months.