Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) has no equipment for testing of recently introduced Euro-II standard petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) products to the specifications approved and notified by the government, it is learnt reliably.
Official documents available with Pakistan Today disclosed that HDIP has been undertaking sampling and testing of indigenous and imported POL products on behalf of OGRA. However, POL testing facilities of HDIP at Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi (Karachi Laboratories Complex-KCL) are not equipped to carry out complete range of testing of POL products at par with international standards for marinating quality of fuels across the country. It’s (HDIP) POL testing facilities are equipped with old equipment for testing of the indigenous and 13 million tonnes per annum imported POL products for use in the country such as gasoline (petrol), diesel oil, transformer oil, lubricating oils and greases etc. Eve, it is unable to sample and test million of tonnes of POL products during the refining process including 5 million tonnes of crude oil per annum in refineries situated in and around Karachi.
Also, it (HDIP) lagged behind in witnessing the sampling/testing of imported POL products from ships at outer anchorage/ports to ensure availability of testing facility for 24/7. “ Quality control/testing of the POL products as per international standards will help to reduce the chances of fuel adulteration, which not only pollute the atmosphere but also damage the machinery/equipment thereby indirectly cost heavy lose to the government and the consumers,” documents said.
Although the POL testing facilities of the HDIP are currently providing analytical services to two (02) refineries, 46 bulk oil depots, and 65 lube oil blending/reclamation plants on behalf of Oil and gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), it has failed to provide quality assurance testing services at par with international standards for all POL products at import, export, refineries, storage, transport and retailing stage due to lack of state-of-the-art equipments and machinery as well.
Failing to meet the internationals standards towards sampling and testing of POL products, HDIP has now sought from the government to allocate Rs 457.766 million for strengthening and up-gradation of Karachi Laboratories Complex (KCL), and Rs 434.47million for up-gradation of testing facilities of HDIP at Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta. The up-gradation includes acquisition of the required resources such as replacement of the old equipment and addition of new equipment to meet requirement of recently introduced Euro-II standards, documents said.
Official sources also informed this scribe that Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) which is being the third party inspector undertakes quality sampling and testing of POL products have no control in quality assurance over the supplies of OMCs. It (HDIP) is unable to test POL products as per international standard due to lack of necessary equipments. The OMCs are providing POL products without getting international standard tests of their supplies and as result adding miseries to the consumers. They said OMCs have been adding problems and difficulties for oil industry, power sector, general public and farmers only because HDIP has failed to install state-of-the-art equipments/machinery at its POL testing facilities across the country but it is engaged to carry out tests of POL products.
