Increase in lube base oil prices: government urged to direct Attock Refinery to reverse decision

Chairman, All Pakistan Lubricants Manufa-cturers Association (APLMA), Mian Zahid Hussain has urged the government to direct Attock Refinery to reverse the decision of increase in lube base oil prices and restore base oil prices to the present level.
He said that the Attock Refinery Ltd has increased lubricant prices by Rs 6.50 per litre. According to the chairman APLMA, refineries have increased prices of lube base oil by 15 percent in the past four months. The new increase would result in Rs 8 to Rs 10 per litre in all lubricants.
He said that since December this is third time that base oil prices have increased without any justification or taking lubricants manufacturers in confidence. He pointed out that the price increase in base oil was being linked with the price fluctuation in international market but at the time when the prices of POL have gone down to $87 per barrel, the refineries are increasing base oil prices. He said that as per their formulae, the price of lube base oil should be decreased.
He said that refineries have created false shortage of base oil in the local market, due to which prices are increasing. He mentioned that total consumption of lube oil in Pakistan is 400,000 tonnes while local refineries manufacture only 200,000 tonnes lubricating oil out of which automotive industry consumes 173,000 tonnes, which is 86 percent of the total production. He said that government needs to take steps to meet the shortage of the lubricating oil.
He said that at this juncture when the skyrocketing prices of utilities and edibles have already broken the backs of the consumers, refineries on the other hand overburdening them by frequently increasing prices of lubricating oil. He said that if the trend of price increase continues, the lubricants' manufacturing industries may close down and spurious lube oil manufacturers would flourish endangering consumers' vehicles.