PSO cuts High Octane Petrol Price by Rs 15
Last updated on: 04 June,2020 11:33 pm
The price of HOBC is now fixed at Rs 142 per liter
LAHORE (Dunya News) - Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has reduced the price of high octane petrol by Rs 15 per liter. Now, the price of HOBC is fixed at Rs 142 per liter.
HOBC was earlier being sold as high as Rs 157 per liter. Due to it being deregulated, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) did not hold the authority to fix the price of HOBC.
In this regard, in an exclusive interview with Dunya News program “Dunya Kamran Khan Kay Saath", Special Assistant for Petroleum (SAPM) Nadeem Babar said that our HOBC and fuel oil are not regulated. Legally, neither OGRA nor the Ministry of Finance can determine the price of HOBC.
Nadeem Babar said that he has written a letter to OGRA to investigate the excessive price of high octane petrol being charged to the consumers. Legally, it is the job of the regulator to monitor the price, he added.
While answering a question, he said that the method of fixing the price of petroleum products would be reformed. Oil companies and refineries have suffered losses due to the falling oil prices in the international market. Oil companies are now trying to make excessive profits to make up for these losses.
He said that if the oil companies have suffered a loss on their inventory due to the fall in prices then they would also benefit from the increase in prices. It seems clear that the price of high octane petrol should have come down, which it did not.
"Our pricing system fails in a volatile price environment," the special assistant said. We are going to change our 15 year old pricing system.
Nadeem Babar said the ban on oil imports was lifted after three weeks of its imposition. Oil companies did not import oil due to the continuous decline in prices.
He said that he has asked the oil companies for an import plan for the next two months and the refineries for a three-month import plan. Oil prices fell sharply around April 20, and the ban was lifted on April 15.
The Special Assistant for Petroleum clarified that oil companies must comply with the terms of the oil storage license and OGRA has been asked to revoke the licenses of non-compliant oil companies.