Petroleum Minister, PPDA discuss pricing reforms, margins

July 21, 2026 (MLN): Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik has briefed a delegation of petroleum dealers on the transition from weekly to daily fuel price announcements, telling them the new mechanism would run on a seven-day rolling average of international prices aimed at improving transparency and curbing market distortions.

The meeting brought together the Minister and a delegation of the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA), led by Chief Adviser Malik Khuda Baksh, to discuss pricing reforms, deregulation, and broader issues concerning petroleum dealers.

The PPDA delegation opened by commending the government's handling of fuel supplies through the disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz crisis, noting that uninterrupted availability had been maintained nationwide despite regional uncertainty, according to a press release issued.

Malik Khuda Baksh pointed out that several neighbouring countries had seen law and order situations stemming from petroleum shortages, while Pakistan's supply chain held steady through timely government intervention  and pledged the Association's continued support for the government's policy direction.

On pricing, the Minister explained that the earlier weekly mechanism had itself been based on a seven-day average, and that the shift to daily updates was essentially a refinement of the same formula rather than a departure from it intended to better track international price movements in real time.

The PPDA delegation voiced its backing for the revised approach.

Ali Pervaiz Malik added that the government is steering the sector toward a more market-driven pricing framework to protect consumers and limit opportunities for manipulation.

He argued that periodic price revisions had increasingly opened the door to hoarding and speculative behaviour, and that moving to daily adjustments would close that gap while making the pricing regime more predictable.

The dealers, for their part, asked to be consulted as rules and operational modalities between Oil Marketing Companies and dealers are finalized  a request the Minister said would be taken on board.

The delegation also flagged the long-pending issue of dealer margins, pressing for an increase to 8%. The Minister said progress was forthcoming and confirmed a follow-up meeting with OGRA had been arranged for the next day to work through this and other outstanding concerns.

Closing the meeting, the Minister thanked the PPDA leadership for its cooperative stance and reaffirmed the government's commitment to building a transparent, competitive, and consumer-friendly petroleum market in consultation with stakeholders.

The PPDA delegation included Chief Adviser Malik Khuda Baksh, along with Raja Waseem Kayani, Chaudhry Zafar Elahi, Babar Ali Chaudhary, and Chaudhry Faisal Arif.

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