OMAP flags threat to fuel supply stability

LAHORE: The Oil Marketing Association of Pakistan (OMAP) issued an urgent call for immediate policy intervention, warning that the current Price Differential Claims (PDC) mechanism poses a serious threat to fuel supply stability across the country.

In separate communications to Federal Energy Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and the chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), OMAP Chairman Tariq Wazir Ali described the situation facing the downstream petroleum sector as “increasingly unsustainable.”

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While acknowledging the government’s efforts to maintain price stability amid regional tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, the association cautioned that PDC levels have now reached approximately Rs78 per litre on petrol and Rs176 per litre on diesel — figures that are significantly eroding profit margins and reducing oil marketing companies (OMCs) to mere financial intermediaries.

OMAP warned that unpredictable weekly price adjustments are further hampering financial planning and inventory management, particularly for smaller OMCs now facing the risk of operational shutdown. To counter these challenges, the association proposed a centralised PDC management mechanism through the State Bank of Pakistan, extended payment timelines, low-cost bank financing, and the formation of a joint government-industry policy review committee.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026