Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) has asked for lifting governmental control over petrol prices as selling oil at subsidized rates has been making to the organization suffer huge financial losses. The retailers are forced to sell petrol at far below prices as compared to the actual prices in the market, reported UAE based paper the National in its recent report.

Saeed Khoory, the Chief Executive of ENOC, said that the firm has been bearing loss at all its 170 service stations in UAE by selling petrol at control price of AED1.37 per litre. He urged UAE government either to raise petrol prices or offer direct subsidies to cover up losses being suffered by retailers.

Asking for the need to revise the price fixation mechanism, Khory added, "Freeing the price is the best solution for the UAE." He further said that plans are being drawn to introduce self service at stations.

Khalid Hadi, ENOC's brand and marketing manager said that the firm has suffered losses of hundreds of millions of dollars at the retail unit over the past five years. He said that prices need to be at about $40 to $45 a barrel to break even on gasoline sales.