MoPNR releases data: higher demand of petroleum, HSD witnessed

With major reduction in petroleum products prices, the sale of petrol on February 1, 2015, has reached 33,000 tons against normal sale of 12,500 tons; whereas that of High Speed Diesel (HSD) has touched 46,000 tons from 20,000 tons, data released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources (MoPNR) revealed.
According to the data, the actual sale of petrol on February 1, 2015, was 33,000 tons, against the normal sales of 12,500 tons of which 21,000 metric tons was supplied in Punjab, while the remaining quantity was in the rest of the country. The government has projected a total demand of petrol in February 540,000 tons of which 117,000 tons are in the stocks. To deal with the increased demand of the commodity, the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) during the current month will import 11 vessels of petrol of 350,000 tons. Furthermore, local refineries will also produce 130,000 tons during the current month to meet the increase in demand. The OMCs would also import 210,000 tons of HSD.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has advised all OMCs to ensure minimum 5,000 liters stocks at the retail outlets all the time and the Ministry in collaboration with the district administration monitoring the entire situation. The Ministry is monitoring the situation round the clock, 7 days a week, to ensure smooth supply of petrol, HSD and other petroleum products to avoid any discomfort to the general public.
According to the spokesman of the Petroleum Ministry, petrol stocks are in sufficient quantity throughout the country, including Punjab. The supply chain of petrol and other petroleum products is fully functional. Petrol is supplied at retail outlets more than the demand; hence there is no possibility of any shortage of the commodity in any part of the country.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources already issued necessary instructions to all OMCs to top-up their respective depots and move the premier motor gasoline (Petrol), HSD and other petroleum products to entire country. Further, instructions have also been issued to chief secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan to ensure smooth supply of petroleum products at retail outlets in their territorial jurisdiction to avoid any kind of shortage, overcharging and discomfort to the general public/consumers.