TotalEnergies Fiji has warned that panic buying is rapidly draining fuel supplies at service stations, with motorists repeatedly topping up vehicles and filling drums and jerry cans, creating sudden shortages that stations are struggling to refill. The company’s managing director and chief executive, Bhavana Samel, said the behaviour is forcing operators to rethink on‑site supply management and customer prioritisation.
“We had a station manager meeting this morning (yesterday),” Ms Samel said, adding that the company had been sharing its strategy with station operators. Managers alerted TotalEnergies to “unusual purchasing patterns”, including repeat vehicles returning within a day to refuel and customers arriving with multiple drums — “maybe five, 10 drums to be filled,” she said. Those bulk purchases, combined with frequent top‑ups, have accelerated local depletion at pumps.
Ms Samel pointed out the operational dilemma stations face. “It creates a bit of a sudden shortage because we cannot refuse a car. We can refuse a jerry can or a drum, but we cannot refuse a car,” she said, stressing that repeated refuelling by the same customers places additional pressure on already stretched supplies. “So, if the car is refuelling multiple times, then the shortage will come.”
As an immediate response, TotalEnergies has told station managers it will implement measures to manage allocations and prioritise deliveries, though Ms Samel did not detail specific rationing thresholds or changes to delivery schedules. She said the company will “push the right quantity” to outlets and prioritise fuel for essential services and genuine commercial needs, signalling that frontline responders and businesses with verified operational requirements would be given precedence if shortages persist.
The warning follows a string of reports from service stations of rapid stock depletion and queues forming as motorists seek to secure fuel. While TotalEnergies is one of the country’s major suppliers, Ms Samel’s comments underscore how short‑term consumer behaviour can quickly create localized supply stress even where wholesale availability remains stable. The company’s message to motorists was clear: avoid bulk buying that exacerbates shortages. “We do not want to encourage this panic buying… we will give,” she said.
TotalEnergies’ engagement with station managers is the latest development as fuel retailers monitor demand patterns and consider tighter on‑site controls. For now, station operators retain the ability to refuse bulk container fills, but the company acknowledged limits on refusing vehicle refuels. Ms Samel said TotalEnergies will continue to coordinate with its network to stabilise supply and urged calm while allocation strategies are implemented.
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