OGRA denies rumors of ending local refinery priority for oil products

April 25, 2024 (MLN): The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has clarified that certain news reports circulating in the media, which suggest the discontinuation of prioritizing the upliftment of products from local refineries before imports, are not based on factual information.

The authority highlighted and clarified this matter through a notice issued yesterday in response to the Managing Directors (MDs) of all refineries, who raised concerns regarding the deregulation of petroleum products.

It is important to note that following the directive of the Prime Minister's Office, OGRA outlined certain discussion points for the deregulation of oil prices, based on the rationale/principles stated in the preamble of the OGRA Ordinance 2002, along with the associated factors.

The final decision rests with the Federal Government which retains the prerogative to consider all relevant dram, implications, and shareholders viewpoints before finalizing the poll.

“Any decision in this regard shall be made, after thorough deliberation and due diligence to ensure that all viewpoints are considered in the decision making,” the authority added.

Going further, OGRA has requested refineries to approach this matter with patience/prudence and to refrain from engaging in correspondence that might be counterproductive to the efforts to reform the oil sector to ensure the efficiency of the same.

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