Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Tuesday claimed that its surprise inspection to determine hoarding of POL stocks by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and retailers for inventory gains, on the eve of notification of new prices, was only able to find a few retailers deficient in POL stocks. A statement issued by OGRA said it is observed that whenever there is a speculation of price hike of petroleum products, OMCs and retailers tend to hoard POL stocks for inventory gain. OGRA taking cognisance of this issue assigned its teams comprising of officers of enforcement department to conduct inspections at OMC’s retail outlets, located in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and adjoining areas, ahead of the notification of POL prices during January 29 to 31.
