The Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has awarded contracts to import higher quality fuel from November 2016.
According to the PSO spokesperson, the shipments of Research Octane Number (RON) 92 would reach Pakistan by the end of this month and would be made available to the public from November.
The decision came after reports surfaced mentioning that the standard petrol used by a majority of the country is low grade and the only other country to use it is Somalia.
The government had decided to replace RON 87 with RON 92 earlier and moved ahead on its plan by awarding three contracts out of which the first consignment to bring 55,000 tons would reach the country by the end of October.
While fuel pumps across Pakistan continue to sell RON 87 petrol as the standard, almost all countries now run at least on RON 92 petrol.
The quality of petrol is measured in the amount of octane, normally indexed as the RON. In simple terms, the higher the octane number, the higher the performance of gasoline engines. Use of low-octane petrol leads to engine knocking.
The price difference between RON 87, which is currently sold in the country, and RON 92 petrol comes to about Rs2.74 per litre. However, the actual import cost and the price difference may vary from time to time according to the fluctuations in international oil prices.
Pakistan’s neighbouring countries including Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka are already using minimum RON 92 petrol.
The Oman Trading International Ltd (OTI) is going to supply the first ever RON 92 motor gasoline cargo to Pakistan. The vessel is expected to reach Karachi between October 25 to 27, 2016.
