ISLAMABAD: Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has refuted claims of diesel shortage in the country, saying sufficient stock is available in the country to cater to demand.
“Sufficient diesel stocks are available in the country to cater to the necessary demand,” OGRA spokesman Imran Ghaznavi said in a brief statement on Tuesday, after the OCAC penned letter to the authority highlighting the shortage of diesel.
“It has been noted that certain sections of [the] press reported on the limited stocks of diesel in the country which is not correct,” an Ogra spokesperson said.
The regulatory body’s denial followed media reports on a letter written by Syed Nasir Abbas Zaidi, secretary general of the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), to the chairman of the Ogra, in which he expressed concern about “product availability challenges in various pockets of the country in days to come due to inadequate imports and limited local avail[ability]”.
During a product review meeting for the month of November held on 13 and 14 October, a deficit of 210,000 MT of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) and 147,000 MT of Motor Spirit (MS) was identified, Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) informed the government in a letter sent to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority on November 3.
Due to the limited supply of molecules on the global market and the extremely high premiums, it was noted during the conference that HSD imports in November would be difficult. As a result, only PSO and Flow Petroleum have so far reserved laycans totaling 220,000 MT and 10,000 MT, respectively.
The fact that MS import laycans have not yet been booked and do not correlate to the estimated sales volume and stock cover, on the other hand, is concerning, according to OCAC’s letter.
