In spite of public declarations of payment for the subsidy, propane gas continued to be very scarce all over the country. The president of the refinery, Aristedes Fernandez Zucco, told El Caribe reporters that he had not received the RD$200 million that was reported to have been paid by Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa. In fact, Fernandez Zucco said that the government owed the refinery RD$800 million, and, as there is money pending, Fernandez was positive that a solution was underway. He also announced that two ships would arrive on Monday with a total of 3.8 million gallons of propane. Last Thursday, the refinery received a shipment of 2.5 million gallons, enough to supply nearly half the weekly demand that is estimated to be between 5.5 and 7 million gallons of propane across the nation.