KARACHI – Attock Refinery has jacked up prices of lube base oil by Rs 6.50 per litre. Refineries have inflated prices of lube base oil by 15 percent in the past four months, All Pakistan Lubricants Manufacturers Association (APLMA) Chairman Mian Zahid Husain said in an issued statement.
He stressed the new increase would result in price rises in the case of all lubricants, ranging from Rs 8.0 to Rs 10 per litre. It was noted that since December, this was the third time that base oil prices have been raised without any justification or input from lubricant manufacturers.
He pointed out that the price increase in base oil was being linked with the price fluctuation in the 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 without any justification. He said that as per their formula, the price of lube base oil should be decreased instead. Zahid said that refineries have created a false shortage of base oil in the local market, causing an increase in price.
He mentioned that total consumption of lube oil in Pakistan is 400,000 tonnes, while local refineries manufacture only 200,000 tonnes of the commodity. The automotive industry consumes 173,000 tonnes, which is 86 percent of the total production. He said that the government needs to step up efforts in order to meet lubricating oil shortage.
He warned that if the trend of price increase continues, lubricants’ manufacturing industries may close down and spurious lube oil manufacturers would flourish, endangering consumers’ vehicles. The APLMA chief demanded the government to immediately reverse the decision of refineries and restore base oil prices to the present level in order to save automotive, engineering and lubricants industry.
