Pakistan fuel crisis: Pakistan has once again reached the brink of fuel crisis. Petrol reserves are depleting rapidly, imports are getting delayed and bottlenecks in government policies are increasing. This has raised serious questions on the energy security of the country.
According to media reports, the current reserves of petrol in Pakistan are around 3,79,442 tonnes, which is sufficient for only 14 days as per the current consumption. Average daily sales of petrol in the first 13 days of July stood at 25,000 tonnes, 16 per cent higher than expected and 26 per cent higher than the same period last year. Due to the fear of increase in prices, consumers and dealers have started accumulating stocks in advance, which has put additional pressure on the stocks.
Shipment of about 1,53,000 tonnes of petrol is expected to arrive in the coming days, but the situation still remains worrying. Last month, a 37,000-tonne cargo was held up due to lack of clearance, while another import involving four oil marketing companies (OMCs) was cancelled. Apart from this, it is becoming difficult to get oil tankers out of ports on time.
The demand for petrol has increased a lot in the first fortnight of July. People are thinking that the price of petrol may increase again, so they are buying more. Due to this the stores are getting emptied more rapidly. Oil marketing companies are demanding the government to immediately release pending payments of Rs 66.7 billion. These companies say that due to lack of money they are not able to import new petrol.
If this amount is received, then about 2 lakh 50 thousand tonnes of petrol can be imported, which will significantly strengthen the country’s reserves. Companies say that due to delays in these payments they are facing difficulty in raising funds for new imports.
Imported petrol is also taking a lot of time for custom clearance (WeBOC system) at the ports. Due to this, petrol is not able to reach the interior areas of the country on time.
Diesel stock in Pakistan is currently fine due to local refineries. But if people panic and start buying more or stocking up, the situation can quickly worsen. If the government does not take immediate action, there may be fuel shortage in Pakistan again. Common people may face long queues at petrol pumps and prices may increase further.