Due to limited imports and constrained domestic supplies, the oil industry has warned the government that the country may witness a shortage of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) in the upcoming days.
The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has been written about the shortfall by the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), an organisation that represents the oil industry.
The Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) were given permission to import motor spirit/petrol and HSD in accordance with their demand in the product availability review of products for the month of November 2022, the OCAC stated. This decision followed considerable consideration.
A shortage of 210,000 MT of HSD and 147,000 MT of gasoline was calculated during the product review. Due to restricted supply on the global market and extremely expensive premiums, it was noted at the meeting that HSD imports in November would be difficult. As a result, only PSO has so far reserved supplies from Flow Petroleum of 220,000 MT and 10,000 MT.
Alarmingly, though, fuel import that corresponds to the expected sales volume and the stock cover has also not been scheduled. According to the OCAC letter, the importers were supposed to finalise the import plan, but as of now, there is a gap in the import plan.
The conference with representatives from the industry held on November 1 also brought up this crucial issue, but no clear guarantees have been obtained in writing from the importing OMCs, it stated.
According to Geo, the OMCs, who were expected to bring imports for use in October, got their shipments in the final week of the month; hence, the product wasn’t ready for usage during the month it was intended for. Similar to how OMCs who were permitted to import goods the month before for usage the following month had already used the shipments, the letter observed.
