Pakistan has enough POL stocks until third week of June, ministry tells Dar

ISLAMABAD: The petroleum ministry informed Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday that Pakistan has adequate petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) reserves to meet national requirements until the third week of June, after taking expected incoming shipments into account.

The update was shared during a high-level meeting held to review the country’s stock position for petroleum products. According to the briefing given at the meeting, sufficient supplies are available to maintain uninterrupted availability of POL products across the country through the third week of June 2026.

The ministry told the meeting that the supply situation was being tracked continuously and that the National Coordination and Management Committee (NCMC) was monitoring developments on a daily basis to ensure oversight and proactive management of the supply chain.

Dar appreciated the efforts of the relevant stakeholders for maintaining a steady and dependable fuel supply across Pakistan despite ongoing global and domestic pressures.

According to the deputy prime minister’s office, the meeting was attended by a number of cabinet members as well as senior officials from different ministries and departments.

Oil crisis and rising import bill

The review took place against the backdrop of a sharp rise in global fuel prices over the past two months, as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has remained paralysed since the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28.

Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan’s weekly oil import bill had climbed to $800 million because of the continuing oil crisis linked to the Middle East conflict. He praised Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik for his role in addressing the fuel crisis stemming from the Iran war and said the situation now appeared satisfactory.

our weekly pre-war oil bill was around $300m, and today it is up to $800m

The prime minister also said the country’s fuel consumption had declined compared to previous weeks and added that the situation was under regular review.

Austerity steps announced earlier

In March, the prime minister announced what he described as unprecedented austerity measures to deal with the crisis, saying the steps were being enforced so that available oil reserves could be used in a judicious manner.

Under those measures, all government offices were directed to observe a four-day working week from Monday to Thursday. The restriction, however, did not apply to banks. The exemption also covered the agriculture and industrial sectors, along with essential services including hospitals and ambulance services.

The latest official assessment presented to Dar indicates that, with incoming cargoes accounted for, the country has enough POL stocks to avoid supply disruption in the coming weeks.