The familiar sight of petrol station attendants filling up tanks could soon be a thing of the past across much of Argentina after President Javier Milei’s government issued a new decree authorising the use of self-service fuel pumps.
The move – which brings Argentina into line with countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Paraguay and European Union member states – will allow customers to serve their own petrol or diesel.
Unions, however, warned that as many as 70,000 jobs could be lost by the development, adding that there were potential safety risks.
In Decree 46/2025, issued by the Energy Secretariat on Wednesday, the Milei administration said the measure would “provide service stations with an additional option for organising their service offerings.”
Self-service fuel options will be voluntary and subject “to the discretion of the fuel retailers,” it added. The government hopes to see “lower differentiated prices” and “clear benefits for the consumer,” as service stations will incur lower costs.
Self-service pumps, however, will not be installed across all national territory. In the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, and Jujuy, local laws prohibit the operation of fuel pumps by anyone other than service station staff.
Full story Unions warn new self-service fuel pump rules will mean job losses | Buenos Aires Times
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