The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has suspended licenses of six Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for their failure to retain 20-day POL stocks. Senior officials at the petroleum ministry told Business Recorder on Monday that in recent petroleum crisis six OMCs failed to maintain the prescribed stocks of POL, which compelled the government to import nearly 200,000 tons of petrol on emergency basis.
The officials revealed that licenses of Admore Gas (Pvt) Limited AGPL, Hascol Petroleum Limited, Askari Oil Services (Pvt), Overseas Traders Private Limited, Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited and Bakri Trading Company Pakistan (Pvt) Limited (BTCPL) have been suspended.
Sources said that all the OMCs were directed to complete the construction of storage facilities in six months, failing which their license would be cancelled, but these companies failed to build the required storage facilities. These six OMCs have a total 1,100 petrol pumps across the country, but lack of storage facilities created shortage across the country, especially in Punjab and Northern parts.
Sources said that recent fuel crisis were a result of insufficient storage capacity, adding that as per the law, OMCs are bound to have fuel stocks for 20 days, but these companies paid no heed to regulatory authority's warnings. "The country needs nearly 125,000 tons of petrol monthly and at present Pak Arab Refinery's monthly production is 60,000 tons of petrol.
On a query, an official privy to the developments alleged that oil refineries were adopting similar tactics to pressurise the government as that of successfully employed by the Oil Tankers Association in May, creating an artificial shortage across the country forcing the government to increase freight margins for tankers. At present, 12 OMCs are operating in the country. The authority has issued show-cause notices to the OMCs, besides requesting general public to report shortage of petrol in any part of the country, the official maintained.
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