Federal authorities and oil companies are at odds with each other over the cause of a diesel shortage gripping Addis Abeba for the past week. Gas stations across the city have seen long queues for hundreds of cars, as drivers are forced to wait for up to seven hours to fill their tanks.

The lines snaked so long that cars were lined up from a gas station on Tito Road (near Supermaker area in Kasanchis neighbourhood) all the way down to St. Stephen Church at Mesqel Square on Thursday. The lines jammed the roads in several places, crowding out traffic.

"After lining up for 7 hrs finally got my diesel filled up," posted @LuelyeA on Friday, June 1.

It is not a new phenomenon. Over the past half year, fuel shortages and the ensuing queues have occurred on three separate occasions – twice ahead of price adjustments and once with trucks transporting fuel from ports in Djibouti having issues with federal transport authorities. The supply and pricing of petroleum products have long been a recurring nightmare for drivers and authorities.

The industry battles with the continued depreciation of the Birr. No less daunting is the foreign currency crunch, the ever-increasing demand that comes with the population growth and growing economic activities, contraband trade to neighbouring countries, and alleged hoarding. At the onset of the most recent shortage, officials at the Petroleum & Energy Authority established a task force. They fielded its members across the country tracking the whereabouts of fuel trucks.

"Two hundred trucks with fuel were hidden in the premises of schools and factories,” said Bekelech Kuma, communications director.

The Authority was rechristened following the restructuring of federal agencies last October. It is under the purview of the Ministry of Trade & Regional Integration (MoTRI). It ordered the 37 oil companies last week to report on the status of the trucks operating under them. Only nine complied, disclosed Bekelech.

She warns that truck owners that do not deliver their cargo by the coming week will face serious measures.

“We'll seize the trucks,” she told Fortune.

Officials claim the top five oil companies, which control over 80pc of the market share, are the major source of the problem.

Incorporated in 2004 with an initial capital of 100 million Br, National Oil Company (NOC) is the top dog in the industry with a 33.7pc market share. Libya Oil Ethiopia Ltd follows with 18.5pc, followed by TotalEnergies Ethiopia, Yetebaberut Beherawi Petroleum (YBP), and TAF Oil Plc. Nonetheless, the managers of the oil companies say they have complied with the Authority's orders.

“We've reported on the status of the trucks operating under us,” said Aschalew Workeye, logistics manager of TAF Oil.