Lower fuel prices at Cnergy petrol stations continue to draw long queues

SINGAPORE – Long queues at Cnergy petrol stations continued on March 23, as drivers flocked there for lower priced petrol and diesel.

At the three no-frills Cnergy stations owned and operated by Union Gas, pump prices were $2.48 a litre for 95-octane petrol and $2.80 a litre for 98-octane petrol for members, as at 11am on March 23.

Elsewhere, 95-octane petrol costs $3.47 a litre at Caltex, Shell, Esso and Sinopec before discounts are applied, and $3.46 at SPC owing to the Iran war’s disruption to global oil supply.

The same grade of petrol used to cost $2.88 a litre at most petrol stations before the US and Israel first struck Iran on Feb 28.

Since then, the Strait of Hormuz – which connects the Persian Gulf with the wider world and handles about a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade – has been blocked.

When The Straits Times visited the Cnergy petrol station in Dunman Road at 10.45am, there was a line of around 10 vehicles waiting to refuel their vehicles.

The queue gradually grew to a steady line of about 20 vehicles over the next 1½ hours, with the wait time averaging around 15 to 20 minutes each.

Around half of these vehicles in line had private-hire vehicle decals on display, while the rest were personal cars, vans, lorries and motorcycles.

Many motorists were observed not complying with the new yellow boxes painted on Dunman Road, where it meets Carpmael Road and Ceylon Road. This prevented other motorists from exiting the side roads smoothly.

Frustrated bus drivers also sounded their horns every 10 to 15 minutes as they were blocked from stopping at the bus stop, due to motorists ignoring the yellow lines marking the kerb. Most took to stopping in the outer lane instead, for passengers to board and alight.

Twice, motorists alighted from their vehicles to shout at the motorists directly behind them for sounding their horns, telling them they could not move into the bus stop or yellow-box zone.

These new yellow boxes, along with expanded bus stop markings, were implemented on March 18, prompted by congestion over the past weeks.

Marine Parade-Braddell Heights GRC MP Goh Pei Ming had said in a Facebook post earlier that these new yellow boxes were intended to “keep junctions clear, improve traffic flow along the main road, and reduce unnecessary bottlenecks”.

On March 23, Mr Goh, who is Minister of State for Home Affairs and Social and Family Development, said he was aware of complaints of motorists driving through Carpmael Road to cut into the queue at the Dunman Road Cnergy petrol station, and others who ignore the yellow-box markings there.

He said auxiliary police officers will be deployed at the petrol station soon, and they will be able to act against drivers who do not adhere to traffic rules.

Over at Cnergy’s Queensway petrol station, which ST visited from 1.30pm to 2.30pm, queues peaked at around 15 vehicles, although waits to enter the station were shorter at five to 10 minutes.

Among the steady stream of customers at Cnergy’s Dunman Road outlet was Mr Adib Kusein, 52, who has been refuelling his car regularly at Cnergy when he is near one of its three outlets, even before the Iran war broke out.

Noting that he can save around $1 per litre on petrol now, the private-hire driver of seven years said waiting for 15 to 20 minutes was worth it, as fuel is much cheaper there.

Mr Yong Wei Teck, 65, who works in an ironworks factory, said he had refuelled his car at Cnergy about 1½ weeks ago at a lower price of around $2.20 per litre, but he still found the current price of $2.48 a litre “okay”.

He has been pumping petrol at Cnergy on a weekly basis since the outlet in Dunman Road opened in October 2025.

At the Queensway outlet, Mr Chia Cher Yong, 52, was visiting the petrol station for the second time in two weeks because the “rates are very good”.

Mr Chia, who works in logistics, said Cnergy’s current petrol prices translate to savings of $15 to $20 for each full tank of petrol.

First-time customer Philip Lee, 68, decided to refuel his car there after reading news about its lower prices online, which he calculated can save him close to $1 per litre.

However, the retired business owner who lives in Queenstown said he would prefer to skip the 10-minute wait, and may visit the petrol station at midnight next time to avoid the queue.

A pump attendant at Cnergy’s Queensway outlet said the recent surge in customers has been tough on him, as he ends up working without a break.

He added that most new customers often need help from a pump attendant to teach them how to tap the membership card to refuel their vehicles. Two pump attendants were on duty at the outlet on the afternoon of March 23.

On how Cnergy keeps its petrol prices low, Union Gas chief executive Teo Hark Piang previously told ST that the company accepts a smaller profit margin to keep its prices lower than those at other fuel station operators, but stops short of doing so at a loss.