The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has suspended licenses of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) only for certain parts in the country, an official said. The authority on June 28 suspended licenses of six oil marketing companies for not retaining required stocks at their oil depots in various parts of the country.
“As a result these companies will not be operating in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Northern Areas while at other places they will continue to operate”, OGRA official sources said. The official said these companies will not supply stocks to petrol pumps in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Northern Areas of the country while petrol pumps in those areas are allowed to sell petroleum products.
Replying to a question, the official said that 13 oil marketing companies were operating across the country and hoped the suspension of the licenses of these companies would not create disruptions in fuel supplies. The companies which licenses had been suspended include Admore Gas (Pvt) Limited AGPL, Hascol Petroleum Limited, Askari Oil Services (Pvt), Overseas Traders Private Limited, Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited and Bakri Trading Company Pakistan (Pvt) Limited (BTCPL). These companies having a total of 1,100 petrol pumps across the country were flouting the liceneces’ terms and conditions by not retaining fuel stocks for 20 days.
Non-compliance on the part of these oil marketing companies created fuel shortage across the country, especially in Punjab. OGRA had issued show cause notices to these companies and asked them to strictly implement the licenses’ terms and conditions but these were apparently ignored and the fuel shortage continued to prevail. It was noted that OGRA would not allow any company to flout prescribed rules and regulations under licensing and was making consistent efforts to redress public complaints at the earliest.
