Petrol storage capacity up by 38.7pc, HSD 18.4pc

ISLAMABAD: The government has enhanced storage capacity of Motor Spirit by 38.7 percent and High Speed Diesel by 18.4 percent in a two-year period to reinforce existing deposits and ensure uninterrupted supply of petroleum products across the country.

During FY 2018-19 and 2019-20, storage capacity for MS and HSD have been enhanced from 0.49 million MT to 0.68 million MT and 1.222 million MT to 1.447 million MT respectively to meet the enhanced demand of petroleum products, according to an official document available with APP.

The country''s consumption of petroleum products has increased from 12.5 million tons (MT) to 14.7 MT during the first nine months (July-March) of the fiscal year 2020-21, posting a growth of around 17.6 percent.

The crude oil s local extraction and imports reached 68.9 Million Barrels (MBL) in Jul-Mar 2021 from 58.6 MBL as compared to the same period of the corresponding year.

While the share of imports remained 48.2 MBL oil as compared to 38.8 MBL of the last year.

During the period under review, as many as four licences for construction and one licence for operation of Lube Oil Blending, Reclamation and Grease Plants were issued.

Similarly, five licences were issued for setting up Lubricant Marketing Company (LMC) and three operational licences for LMCs.

These provisions of licences would enhance the domestic supply of crude oil and decrease oil import bill.