LAHORE: The Oil Marketing Association of Pakistan (OMAP) has appealed to Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif for his immediate intervention in the recovery mechanism of foreign exchange losses in the petroleum industry.
In this regard, Chairman OMAP Tariq Wazir Ali wrote a letter to the Prime Minister bringing his attention to the matter of the ongoing issue of unrecoverable exchange losses in the petroleum industry, which has been pending for a considerable time.
“The Prime Minister’s prompt action will help safeguard the petroleum industry from further crisis and ensure its continued contribution to the nation’s economy,” read the letter.
Chairman OMAP said that the PM’s commitment to economic stability and growth has been a beacon of hope for many industries, including the petroleum industry.
The letter states, “‘The industry has accumulated unrecovered exchange losses amounting to Rs 26 billion due to deficiencies in the current foreign exchange gain/loss recovery mechanism. Despite acknowledging these flaws and recognizing the losses incurred by companies, the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) has been reluctant to address the matter promptly.”
To address this issue, the Director General (Oil) convened a meeting on April 8, 2024. Subsequently, the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) developed a concept paper, which was forwarded to the OGRA for comments on April 22, 2024. After reviewing the document, OGRA provided its feedback and sent it back to the Ministry on May 22, 2024.
Additionally, on June 7, 2024, the Prime Minister’s Office, through the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), directed the relevant authorities to provide their comments on the matter.
Tariq Wazir Ali said that regrettably, the Petroleum Division has not yet finalised the proposed mechanism for recovering exchange gains and losses and the petroleum industry remains vulnerable to further losses if exchange rates fluctuate again.
“Therefore, we urgently request your intervention to expedite the finalization of the proposed mechanism,’ he added.
