Time is ripe for deregulating petroleum market, says Abbasi

Govt currently spending $6 billion on oil and gas pipelines

KARACHI: Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said the government is considering deregulating the petroleum market in the country.

“There are different views but I personally support deregulation. This will help address issues of inefficiency and fuel quality,” Abbasi said while speaking at a ceremony organised by Bakri Pakistan on Wednesday.





“Our neighbour India has done this and I think this is the right time to go for deregulation. Once we are done with deregulation, we will be in a better position to protect consumer rights and resolve quality issues in our fuels,” he added.

Abbasi claimed that the liquefied natural gas (LNG) price that Pakistan was paying right now was lower than the price of locally produced natural gas.

“Pakistan heavily relies on gas, therefore, LNG is the future fuel for the country. It is not only reliable but also cost effective compared to alternative fuels like solar and wind energy,” he said.

Abbasi revealed that the government was spending $6 billion on pipelines right now and investments would rise after work on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) and Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipelines was undertaken.



Speaking about the petroleum sector, he said Pakistan was an erratic but a growth market. There were opportunities for investors but they needed to innovate, just like other businesses, to achieve growth and avoid stagnancy.

He stressed that the government was committed to addressing energy-related problems because energy shortages cost about 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) growth every year. He expressed the hope that Bakri Pakistan, a petroleum sales and marketing company, would further diversify its operations in Pakistan despite the current turmoil in world’s oil and gas industry.

The event was attended by top brass of the energy sector and higher management of Bakri Pakistan including Group Company CEO Hussain Al Shammaa and Managing Director Mirza Shakil Baig.

Bakri’s operations in Pakistan date back to 1994, starting with the supply of petroleum products directly to the government.

With 100% investment from Saudi Arabia’s Bakri International Energy Company, Bakri Pakistan’s key business activities include purchase of black and white oil products from local and international suppliers, storage and supply of petroleum products to its retail outlets and power generation companies.



The company has established storages and terminals at Port Qasim, Machike and Shikarpur and plans to develop storage points at Daulatpur, Mehmoodkot and Sihala. Its under-construction terminal at Shikarpur is expected to start working in the current fiscal year.

The terminals at Port Qasim have the capacity to handle over 130,000 tons of oil and are connected with Fotco’s high sulphur fuel oil and high-speed diesel tanker discharge lines.

The Machike terminal is connected with Pak Arab Refinery Company’s (Parco) terminal and receives petroleum products through Parco’s cross-country pipeline.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th,  2016.

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