Ministry Orders OGRA to Keep All Petrol Pumps Full

The government has ordered the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to guarantee that all retail outlets of oil marketing companies (OMCs) are properly stocked with petroleum products. The energy minister has taken serious notice of reports of dry retail outlets of OMCs and directed OGRA in a letter to mobilize its enforcement teams to ensure that all fueling stations are adequately stocked with petroleum products. This comes after Pakistan State Oil (PSO) alerted the authorities that most OMCs were relying on its petrol/diesel stock instead of procuring it themselves. PSO complained that this situation might cause a crisis because of the domestic load. With the exception of two or three OMCs, other companies had stopped importing fuel due to the hefty import premium they had to pay compared to getting it for cheap from PSO. Smaller OMCs do not import and rely heavily on PSO imports. The letter from the Petroleum Division was addressed to OGRA to keep all OMC outlets stocked due to sufficient stock of MS and HSD throughout the country. Regulatory action may be taken against any OMC for keeping stockpiles lower than the regulated amount in order to avoid a shortage in the country.