Half of 3,000 gas stations
operating without license

There is one fueling location for each 500 cars

There are more than 3,000 gas stations in the country, or an average of one gas station every 3.5 square kilometers, according to the cover story on oil and gas in the September issue of Lebanon Opportunities Magazine. This translates to around one gas station for each 500 cars.

Coral has the largest number of gas stations, followed by United, Medco, and Total.

The Syndicate of Gas Station Owners estimates the number of unlicensed gas stations to be around 1,500.

To work with an import company, a petrol station has to buy a minimum annual quantity of gasoline, generally one million liters per year, or about 20,000 liters per week, and provide a bank guarantee.

Less than half of the gas stations are operated by the importers. The others have independent management, but most still carry a certain brand because they buy the majority of their gasoline from this company.

About three-quarters of unbranded, so-called ‘white’ stations, are unlicensed, and operate illegally. The remaining quarter of gas stations has another issue: They cannot come up with the bank guarantee needed to work with an importer, and they do not perform well enough.

The highest number of stations is found in Mount Lebanon, with 36 percent of the country’s total.

The gas stations can either be company-owned and operated, company-owned and dealer-operated, or dealer-owned and operated.