National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has launched an investigation against an international oil company allegedly involved in selling jet fuel as kerosene oil in the local market.
Contamination practice is on the rise as efforts by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and the local administration have failed in curtailing contamination in petroleum products. The price of kerosene oil compared to other petroleum products is relatively lower in the local market when compared with the price of other petroleum products.
Sources have revealed that Shell Pakistan sold one lakh metric tonnes of jet fuel as kerosene oil in 2014.Company’s spokesperson Samiya Saeed has said that Shell Pakistan is completely cooperating with the investigation authorities.
The federal government hasn’t changed price of kerosene oil despite OGRA’s repeated recommendations. Retail price of kerosene oil is floating at Rs100/liter whereas the federal government has set it at Rs43/liter.
Daily consumption of kerosene oil stands at 370 metric tons and monthly stands at 11, 000 metric tons. This gap is filled by production in local refineries, told market sources.
