Government's decision to increase strategic reserves of petroleum products

The decision to increase the strategic reserves of petroleum was decided because of the situation in the Middle East: sources. Photo file

The caretaker government has decided to increase strategic reserves of petroleum products.


Sources within the Petroleum Division claim that the Middle East crisis played a factor in the government's decision to raise the strategic stockpiles of petroleum products.


Sources claim that although Pakistan imports fuel, there is an urgent need to expand storage capacity and PSO will maintain strategic petroleum product stocks.


According to sources, the government wants strategic petroleum reserves to be kept for a minimum of three months, but at the moment, petroleum companies in the nation are only required to store petroleum products for 21 days.


Sources in the Petroleum Division say that the final reserves and duration can be determined only after a careful assessment of the country's needs, for which the government has decided to develop a framework.


With the assistance of foreign specialists, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) is reportedly going to start working on creating a new framework for strategic petroleum reserves right away. In the new framework, domestic crude oil, refined petroleum requirements and storage will be determined. The new framework will also determine the duration of strategic petroleum reserves of various products.