ISLAMABAD: Apropos reports in the print and electronic media regarding issuance of 21 licences to establish oil marketing companies (OMC) in the last six months, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has clarified that it has issued only construction licences strictly as per the applicable rules and policies of the federal government, in accordance with its objective to increase private investment.
OGRA offic
ials said that the country was currently in dire need of new oil storages due to drastic increase in demand of petrol and diesel during the last few years. Further, only those companies would be allowed to market the product that completed the required storage, meeting all technical and other requirements as per rules, it said.
In 2006, the government policy/criteria for establishing new OMC entailed an upfront equity of Rs 3 billion and investment of Rs 6 billion in three years, and the criteria remained in field until 2010.
Due to meagre investment in storage f
acilities and to encourage new investors for development of storage infrastructure in the country, the government relaxed the policy in 2010, with Rs 100 million as equity and investment of Rs 500 million in three years.
Since July 2016, the OGRA has granted 21 licences for construction of oil storage infrastructure to the companies namely Best Petroleum Pri
vate Limited, Oil Industries Pakistan Pri
vate Limited, Accel Petroleum Pri
vate Limited, Euro Oil Pri
vate Limited, Oleum Petroleum Pri
vate Limited, Al-Noor Petroleum Pri
vate Limited, Dammam Petroleum Pri
vate Limited, Max Fu
els Pri
vate Limited, Fast Oil Pri
vate Limited, Hi-tech
Lubricants Pri
vate Limited, Jinn Petroleum Pri
vate Limited, Vital Petroleum Pri
vate Limited, International Petrochemicals Pri
vate Limited, Allied Petroleum Pri
vate Limited, Only One Energy Pri
vate Limited, Pak Gasoline Services Pri
vate Limited, Shams Petroleum Pri
vate Limited, Berkeley Oil & Gas Development Pri
vate Limited, Taj Gasoline Pri
vate Limited, My Petroleum Pri
vate Limited and Terminal One Limited.
According to the authority, these licences were issued to new applicants to develop the storage infrastructure only and not for the purpose of marketing of the product or development of petrol pumps. Once, the companies complete their storage f
acilities as per OGRA technical standards, they are allowed to market the product and develop petrol pumps to the extent of province/area where they have the storage f
acilities in place, the authority said.