ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s oil regulator announced a crackdown against the alleged illegal hoarding of petrol and diesel in the country’s most populous Punjab province on Wednesday, where consumers are facing a shortage of petroleum products for a week now.
Long queues of cars have been seen outside petrol stations in various parts of Punjab over the past week. Some petrol stations have also started rationing petrol and diesel to accommodate the maximum number of consumers, citing a shortage of commodities from oil companies.
Cash-strapped Pakistan has been actively seeking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package for the past couple of months now. The country’s reserves, which have dipped to a little over $3 billion, are just enough for 18 days of imports.
Oil dealers say the shortage of petroleum products has been caused partly due to the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) unannounced restrictions on imports. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) says it has identified at least 19 illegal fuel storages in Punjab and advised the provincial chief secretary to take “strict action against illegal hoarders.”
In a statement, OGRA said it had compiled the list, which was “identified through market intelligence to avoid deliberate shortage in the province. The authority added that it had disseminated its enforcement teams to check storages and ensure the smooth supply of petroleum products in the province.
State Minister for Petroleum Dr. Musadik Malik told reporters that Pakistan had petrol reserves of at least 20 days and diesel reserves of 29 days. However, he said despite Pakistan having adequate reserves of both, people were still experiencing shortage of petroleum products.
“There are some people in this country who are involved in hoarding [petroleum products],” Malik said. “This means they are stealing your rights, the rights of your children, the rights of those who are sick, those who have to go to their places of business and offices and those children who have to go to schools and colleges, they are stealing their rights,” he said.
Malik warned the alleged hoarders to stop. “You won’t be able to hoard, you won’t be able to steal people’s rights. This is our resolve,” he added. “And if you continue to do so, we will suspend your licenses [to sell petroleum products],” he added.
Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) said around seventy percent of Punjab’s petrol pumps, except for the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) were facing a shortage of petrol and diesel.
“There is no question of hoarding as the petrol stations have genuinely run out of their stocks due to short supplies from the companies,” Abdul Sami Khan, chairman of the PPDA, told Arab News.
Khan said the dealers were not at fault as oil companies were not supplying with an adequate amount of the products.
“The small companies are conveying to their dealers that they may not be able to supply them the product after 10 days as their stocks are running out,” he said, urging OGRA to investigate the issue instead of raiding petrol stations.
“We have no hope that this issue [the petrol shortage] will be resolved anytime soon,” he said, advising the government to start rationing the product to ensure its maximum supply across the country.
