Ministry orders smooth fuel supply in Punjab, Islamabad

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) has directed the district administration in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Rawalpindi and Lahore divisions to devise and enforce a comprehensive plan for uninterrupted supply of petroleum products in view of current lockdown situation.

The directives were issued on Monday after Islamabad and cities in Punjab underwent lockdown due to a protest of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). According to directives, issued to Commissioners ICT and Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions, due to the current lockdown situation in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, access to these cities has been restricted, which is significantly impacting the transit of tank lorries carrying crude oil to Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) and POL [petrol, oil, lubricant] products, which could lead to disruption in their supply.

While the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) is actively engaging with the district administration, the ministry asked commissioners to issue immediate necessary instructions to the people concerned in the district administration to devise and enforce a comprehensive plan to tackle the situation and ensure uninterrupted supply of crude oil to ARL and POL products across the affected cities.

Earlier, in the wake of current lockdown situation in Punjab and Islamabad, the Petroleum Division (PD) and the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) had asked the Punjab administration and law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) to provide the oil-tankers lorries with safe routes for transportation of fuel in these areas to avoid any fuel shortage.

In a letter written to chief secretary Punjab, inspectors generals of police (IGPs) of Islamabad and Punjab, the OCAC said the situation had deteriorated significantly over the past two days, with the highways’ closures severely delaying fuel transportation and posing a serious risk of stock depletion.

The Lahore division serves as a major hub for economic and commercial activity and the inability to replenish fuel supplies on time will adversely affect essential services, daily operations and livelihoods of millions in this region and its surrounding areas. In the light of these challenges, the oil industry seeks the assistance of the Punjab administration and law-and enforcement agencies to facilitate the movement of oil-tankers in the areas and providing special conveys to ensure safe and secure transport of the tankers from Machike town to Lahore.

The OCAC said measures were critical to maintain continuous fuel supply, especially in the Lahore division and to mitigate shortages. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Oil (DG Oil) in the Petroleum Division also issued an office memorandum to commissioners of Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad pinpointing that given the lockdown situation in these regions, the fuel supply access to these cities had been restricted, which was impacting transit of tank lorries carrying the crude oil to ARL and POL products, which could lead to disruption in fuel supply.