Pakistan approves daily petroleum pricing; OGRA to publish fuel rates every day

ISLAMABAD: The government has approved daily petroleum pricing under its broader petroleum sector deregulation plan, with the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) set to determine and publish fuel prices on its website every day, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced on Friday.

The decision replaces the existing weekly pricing mechanism and forms part of wider reforms aimed at deregulating Pakistan's petroleum sector.

Announcing the decision at a joint press conference with Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Malik said, "The Prime Minister and the cabinet have decided that OGRA will determine petroleum prices on a daily basis."

He added that OGRA would publish the revised prices on its website every day as part of the government's strategy to gradually deregulate the petroleum market.

Malik stressed that the new mechanism would not increase the financial burden on consumers, saying, "No additional burden has been placed on the public." He added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a high-level committee under his chairmanship to implement petroleum sector reforms.

The petroleum minister said international energy markets had once again become volatile due to regional tensions, leading to a sharp rise in fuel prices. "The price of diesel in the international market has increased from $110 per barrel to $140 per barrel," he said, adding that the impact of rising global energy prices could not be ignored by fuel-importing countries such as Pakistan.

He said the federal government had spent Rs130 billion on petroleum price subsidies to shield consumers from international price fluctuations and that the subsidy programme was continuing.

On energy reforms, Malik said the government was working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address the circular debt issue while accelerating domestic oil and gas exploration.

He announced that Turkish Petroleum would bring its offshore exploration vessel to Pakistan in October, marking the company's first offshore exploration activity in the country in nearly two decades. He added that refinery upgradation projects were also under way to enable local processing of crude oil and provide petroleum products at internationally competitive prices.

Malik said reforms were also being implemented to improve governance across the petroleum sector, expressing confidence that they would strengthen Pakistan's energy security and improve efficiency.

Speaking on the occasion, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the recent increase in international oil prices was driven by regional tensions and geopolitical uncertainty.

He said Pakistan had maintained adequate petroleum supplies by building additional fuel stocks in time, ensuring that no fuel crisis emerged in the country.

Tarar said the federal government had reduced development spending to provide subsidies and protect consumers from the impact of rising global oil prices. He added that many countries already followed market-based pricing systems under which petroleum prices changed in line with international trends, and that Pakistan's shift to daily pricing would improve market efficiency and transparency.

The information minister said the government had not increased the petroleum levy despite recent international price volatility and had made special efforts to keep it low.

Rejecting allegations that oil marketing companies were making excessive profits, Tarar said the sector remained under strict regulatory oversight and warned that no one would be allowed to exploit the situation through hoarding or profiteering.

He reiterated that the government's top priority was to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies while providing maximum possible relief to consumers despite challenging international market conditions.