Government shifts to daily petroleum pricing amid regional tensions

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to move to daily petroleum price adjustments, with officials saying the change is meant to make the pricing process more transparent as tensions in the region push renewed volatility in global energy markets.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced the decision on Friday at a press conference held with Information Minister Ataullah Tarar. He said the move was approved in a federal cabinet meeting chaired by the prime minister after the recent exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran led to a fresh escalation in the region.

According to Malik, the cabinet decided that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority would now set petroleum prices every day in line with movements in the international market. He said the new system was designed to improve public understanding of fuel pricing while avoiding financial exposure for the state.

Malik said Ogra would place key pricing details in the public domain, including the Platts benchmark rates used internationally for petroleum pricing as well as the different elements that make up the retail price paid by consumers at filling stations. Speaking about the cabinet’s decision, he said:

The federal cabinet and the prime minister decided that, without exposing the state to any risk, the responsibility would be assigned to Ogra to determine petroleum prices daily in line with international market trends. Ogra will not only publish on its website the Platts benchmark rates, which are used globally to determine petroleum prices, but will also disclose the components that make up the final price consumers pay at petrol pumps. Ogra has been directed to publish all these details so that people know why these prices are unavoidable,