Government shifts fuel pricing to daily revisions amid Gulf tensions

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to move to daily fuel price revisions as volatility in international oil markets intensifies following renewed hostilities between Iran and the United States, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Malik said the decision was taken by the cabinet and the prime minister in view of changing global prices. He said the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority would now determine petroleum prices every day on the basis of international market movements.

Malik said Ogra had also been tasked with making the pricing process more transparent by publishing not only the rates used to calculate domestic fuel prices but also the factors behind the final prices charged at petrol pumps. He said the step was being taken as the regional situation appeared to be worsening despite efforts by the country’s leadership.

Thanking the public on behalf of the government, the minister said people had shown patience in bearing the impact of the war. He added that despite the efforts of the Chief of Defence Forces, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the US-Iran conflict appeared to be escalating in the region.

Malik said:

“The Cabinet and prime minister have decided … Ogra will be given the responsibility to daily decide the fuel prices based on the international market,”

He also said:

“not just publish the fuel rates on its website that are used to determine prices, but also publish the factors leading to the price that we see in each petrol pump”.