The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has worked out hike up to Rs 13.60 per litre in the price of Kerosene oil for the next month of June and forwarded a working paper to the government for final approval.
Sources in the OGRA informed this scribe that the regulator has forwarded its working paper regarding oil prices for next month to the ministries of petroleum & natural resources and finance.
They said the OGRA has recommended a mixed revision in the per liter price of petroleum products (POL).
It has recommended upward revision in the prices of light diesel oil (LDO) and Kerosene oil, while the authority has also asked the government to decrease the per litre prices of high speed diesel (HSD) and petrol for the next month. However, the final decision will be taken on Wednesday by the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif before the start of next month of June, 2017, sources added.
According to OGRA’s working paper, the sources said the price of kerosene oil used for cooking purposes in remote areas where liquefied petroleum gas is not readily available, to increase by Rs 13.60/litre and the price of LDO, mainly used for industrial purposes, may go up by Rs 9.50/liter.
Sources further told that the regulatory authority has asked to decrease the price of high speed diesel (HSD), which is mostly used in the transport and agriculture sectors, by Rs 3.20 per litre, and Rs 2.30 per litre cut in the price of petrol.
It is pertinent to mention here that the government has the capability to absorb the impact of the proposed increase in oil prices by adjusting tax rates on petroleum products. And, keeping in mind the on-going serious criticism from almost all political forces on the economic policies of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government especially on the federal budget, it is expected that though the government will increase the oil prices; however, the increase will not be in line with the recommendations of OGRA for the month of June 2017.
