Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Saturday expressed grave concern over the circulation of speculative reports about an increase in prices of petroleum products in Pakistan.
“It has been observed with concern that speculative prices of petrol and diesel are being reported in the print and electronic media since last evening that is misleading and incorrect,” an OGRA spokesman said in a press release.
The spokesman advised the elements, spreading incorrect and misleading information, to avoid disseminating speculative prices of petrol and diesel in the ‘public interest.’
OGRA says sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel available
Earlier this month, OGRA had denied reports of the country’s shortage of diesel and petrol, saying that sufficient stocks were available.
“Sufficient stocks of diesel and petrol are available across the country,” OGRA spokesman Imran Ghaznavi maintained in a press statement.
He said the country had sufficient diesel and petrol stocks to meet 18 and 37 days, respectively. “Furthermore, ships carrying 101,000 Metric Ton petrol is at berth/outer anchorage,” the spokesman said.
The development came after Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) had asked the federal government to intervene immediately to ensure the timely issuance of LCs to import petrol and diesel to avoid a fuel shortage in Pakistan.