Islamabad, Jan 7: The oil sector in Pakistan has called on the government to involve private refineries and oil marketing companies (OMCs) in the deregulation of petroleum product prices. The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) expressed its concerns in a letter, urging that key private stakeholders be included in the working group responsible for deregulating the sector.
While the government moves forward with plans to deregulate petroleum prices, the OCAC has raised alarms over the exclusion of private refineries and OMCs from the consultation process. The council’s chairperson warned that ignoring private stakeholders could lead to poorly crafted policies. The exclusion of petroleum products from sales tax under the Finance Act 2024-25 has already put additional strain on the sector, according to the OCAC.
The council criticized the Petroleum Division for focusing consultations on public sector companies, despite Prime Ministerial directives to include the private sector. The OCAC cautioned that following a unilateral approach could lead to the same mistakes seen in previous policy implementations.
OCAC has called for a more balanced and inclusive policy framework to address the industry’s critical challenges and prevent further complications.
