PSO payables exceed receivables

ABDUL RASHEED AZAD

ISLAMABAD: The total of payables and receivables of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has swelled to over Rs 384 billion, of which Rs 199.5 billion are payables and Rs 185.2 billion receivables.

Power sector is the major defaulter of the fuel supplying company with Rs 164 billion outstanding dues against the sector. The company has to pay nearly Rs 114 billion on account of Letters of Credit (LCs) payment to international fuel supplying companies including Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC). PSO owes Rs 85.5 billion to local refineries.

PSO's total receivables of Rs 185.2 billion include Rs 40.95 billion from Wapda, Rs 85.5 billion from Hub Power Company (Hubco), Rs 33.34 billion from Kot Addu Power Company (Kapco), Rs 3.3 billion from Pakistan International Airline (PIA), Rs 215 million from Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Rs 4.4 billion from Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and Rs 973 million from Pakistan Railways.

At present, PSO's overdue amount has crossed Rs 146.56 billion.

The company is to receive Rs 1.4 billion on account of audited price differential claim of high speed diesel (HSD), Rs 3.4 billion on account of price differential on low sulphur fuel oil & high Sslphur fuel oil (LSFO/HSFO), Rs 1.36 billion on account of price differential on imported PMG and Rs 8.6 billion price differential under GLMP.

PSO's total payables to local refineries have crossed Rs 85 billion, including Rs 38.65 billion to Pak-Arab Refinery (Parco), Rs 13.5 billion to Pakistan Refinery (PRL), Rs 9.45 billion to National Refinery (NRL), Rs 20.9 billion to Attock Oil Refinery (ARL), Rs 2.3 billion to Bosicor, and Rs 793 millions to others.

If LC payment of Rs 113.89 billion is included, which it has to pay to Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC) and other international fuel supplying companies, total payables of the company swell to Rs 199.54 billion, of which Rs 75.3 billion are overdue.  The company is supplying on average fuel worth Rs 32 billion to the power sector on monthly basis. The power sector continuously defaults on its payment obligations to PSO.

The continuous non-payment by the power sector has made PSO severely cash strapped.