KARACHI: The Oil Tankers Contractors Association (OTCA) has demanded an equal 50 percent share in fuel transportation for road tankers, warning that cuts in their quota could force contractors to shut down operations and leave the country without an alternative supply system during a war or pipeline breakdown.
In a letter to the Federal Petroleum Ministry, the association’s President Abdullah Afridi and General Secretary Malik Shoaib Ashraf said the existing policy had made road oil transportation financially unviable, causing serious losses to contractors.
The association said several meetings between its representatives and the Petroleum Ministry on the white oil pipeline issue had failed to produce a conclusive plan. On the ministry’s directives, the Pakistan Institute of Petroleum (PIP) conducted two studies on the pipeline issue and submitted them to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).
However, the association said the resulting policy significantly reduced the share of road transporters, favouring pipeline transportation at their expense. It warned that continued losses would force contractors to ground their tanker fleets and move into other sectors, weakening the country’s ability to maintain fuel supplies during emergencies.
Recalling the last Indo-Pak war, the association said pipeline supplies had remained suspended during the conflict, while road transporters helped ensure fuel supplies across the country.
It cautioned that any war-like situation or pipeline breakdown could disrupt supplies if road transportation capacity was no longer available. The association called for an equal 50 percent share for road tankers and the white oil pipeline, warning that any further increase in the pipeline’s quota could put the country’s overall fuel supplies at risk.
It also accused oil marketing companies (OMCs) of pressuring Ogra to cut the road transporters’ share and increase the pipeline’s quota, describing the alleged move as “utterly unjust”. The association expressed concern over the failure of the Petroleum Ministry and Ogra to honour promises made to its members. “If you (the Petroleum Ministry) do not need us, then let us know in writing so we can quit,” it said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026