Commission Inquiry Report blames hoarding for June 2020 petrol crisis
Commission Inquiry Report blames hoarding for June 2020 petrol crisis
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - The Commission for Inquiry into Petrol Crisis of June 2020, in its report, has termed it a result of hoarding and held the Petroleum Division and Oil Marketing Companies responsible for the shortage.
According to details, the report of the Inquiry Commission on petrol crisis in June 2020 said that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had neglected its basic responsibilities, allowing an artificial petrol crisis to be created.
The commission blamed OGRA, the petroleum division and oil marketing companies for the petrol crisis, saying that hoarding had created a petrol crisis in the country and turned an opportunity amid reduced global prices into a crisis.
The report said that imports were banned while global prices were falling, and every illegal activity was treated as normal. Illegal petrol pumps were set up on a large-scale in the last decade but OGRA failed to stop them.
The report said that the criminal negligence of not storing oil for 20 days cannot be ignored. OGRA’s inability to ensure companies stock oil for 20 days was a failure of the authority.
The report recommended dissolving OGRA through an Act of Parliament while taking action against Secretary Petroleum Division, DG Oil and Imran Abro. It said that Imran Abro and his staff continued to carry out the orders of the higher ups while oil marketing companies were involved in stockpiling.
The report also recommended fixing the prices of petroleum products on a monthly basis instead of bimonthly basis, setting up a monitoring cell in the petroleum division and obtaining stock data from the companies.
