Tag: petrol shortage

  • Pakistani delegation leaves for Russia to hold discussions on cheaper oil

    Pakistani delegation leaves for Russia to hold discussions on cheaper oil

    Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Malik and the petroleum secretary have flown to Russia to hold talks over oil and gas, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Monday on the condition of anonymity.

    The trip comes as the country struggles to meet domestic gas supply demands as winter approaches while battling to contain a current account deficit swelled by energy payments, mostly for oil.

    Ishaq Dar, the federal minister of finance, had already stated that the delegation will discuss an oil contract with Moscow.

    “We should pray the visit is successful and the government manages to secure a deal on favourable terms and conditions,” Dar said during an interview.

    Given the sharp rise in the cost of energy commodities in recent months, buying Russian oil at lower prices has gained popularity. This has been difficult, especially for emerging economies like Pakistan, whose energy requirements are mostly met by imports of petroleum.

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said that during the first four months of the current fiscal year, Pakistan imported petroleum products worth $7.547 billion.

    Dar had earlier stated, speaking to a crowd in Dubai on November 13, that Islamabad hoped to clinch an import pact with Moscow on conditions comparable to those of New Delhi. He said that Pakistan could purchase oil from Russia since India was doing the same, and the US had been informed of this.

  • OCAC warns of petrol supply shortages due to roadblocks

    OCAC warns of petrol supply shortages due to roadblocks

    Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) said that oil marketing companies are supplying fuel to retailers but the deliveries are being slowed owing to road blockages in Punjab’s major cities, which could affect deliveries to filling stations.

    It warned provincial authorities in Punjab that the road blockades have severed connectivity between major cities and neighboring areas, affecting fuel supplies inside the province.

    The Oil Companies Advisory Council affirmed that there are sufficient stockpiles of gasoline products throughout the country, including depots in Punjab.

    It also highlighted fears about the current scenario of roadblocks and the rumoured assumption of minimal stocks spreading on numerous platforms and asked the public to refrain from panic buying. Despite the roadblocks, there are enough stockpiles of petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) in Punjab, and OMCs are constantly working to restock retail outlets on time.

    OCAC expressed its concerns to the Chief Secretary of Punjab, requesting the local administration’s assistance in ensuring the safe and secure transit of tankers from different depots to different petrol outlets across the province till the scenario stabilizes.

  • All petrol pumps will be closed, petroleum dealers announce strike on Nov 25

    The Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) has announced a countrywide strike on November 25 for selling petrol “on low-profit margins”, reports The News.

    The association’s spokesperson said that all petrol pumps across the country, including Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, will remain closed on November 25 (Thursday).

    He said the strike could extend to an “unspecified period” if the government continues to ignore the association’s demands.

    According to him, “We have no other option but to go on strike as the government has failed to meet the November 17 deadline for the fulfilment of our demands.”

    Previously, the association had made a similar announcement for November 5 but withdrew after a team from the government agreed to increase margins on the sale of petroleum products by six per cent.

    However, there has been no progress ever since.

    PPDA Chairman Abdul Sami Khan said petroleum dealers have been in a difficult position due to the high cost of business and low margins. He said that the government guarantees a margin of only 2 per cent on sales of fuel oil in the face of rising electricity tariffs.

    “We demand the government to cancel our petrol pumps licences. Nearly 50 per cent of the petrol pumps will close down permanently with licence cancellation as no one will reapply for acquisition”.

    Earlier this month, the government had announced the rise of up to Rs 8.14 per litre of petroleum products.

  • Ex-wife trolls Imran for petrol shortage in Pakistan when ‘world is running out of space to store it’

    Ex-wife trolls Imran for petrol shortage in Pakistan when ‘world is running out of space to store it’

    Former wife of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has taken a dig at him, calling him “selected” — a term used by the opposition to raise objections over Imran’s rise to power –, while highlighting the persisting petrol shortage at a time when “the entire world is running out of storage space for the same”.

    “History will remember the selected person in Pakistan who created a shortage of petrol at a time when the world was running out of places to store it,” she tweeted.

    The tweet came as a shortage of petrol and diesel at most fuel stations across the country reportedly due to the limited supply of petroleum products added to the miseries of people amid the coronavirus outbreak.

    The scarcity of petrol across the country turned severe last week, as most petrol pumps remained closed in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta. Long queues could be seen on those stations that were open.

    Sameer Najmul Hassan, chairman of All Pakistan Petroleum Retailers Association (APPRA), in a statement, said oil companies will likely run out of their oil stocks in the next three days. They have been left with the stock hardly enough to last out more than three days, he added.

    He said a new quota of petroleum products is not being purchased due to a consistent decrease in the oil companies’ quota. No company other than the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) is purchasing oil at present, the APPRA chairman said.

    “The situation seems to be going from bad to worse until Sunday,” he warned. He said 15 oil marketing companies in total, including the PSO, purchase oil in the country.

    It is pertinent to note that in an unprecedented move, Pakistan, which imports 70 per cent of its crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the remaining from the United Arab Emirates (US), had in April canceled import of gasoline, diesel and crude oil to support the domestic refining industry as energy demand sharply declined amid countrywide lockdowns. 

    The decision to halt the import of petroleum products had followed country’s economic meltdown resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), the Energy Ministry had said that the consumption of motor gasoline had dropped significantly due to lockdown by provincial governments to control the spread of COVID-19.

    Meanwhile, the globally plunging demand for oil brought by the coronavirus pandemic combined with a savage price war had left the fossil fuel industry broken and in survival mode, according to analysts. It faced the gravest challenge in its 100-year history, they said, one that will permanently alter the industry.

    While the first few months into the pandemic saw price wars between oil giants as demand plunged, things are getting better as lockdown restrictions are gradually being eased.