Pak govt allows urgent import of petrol, diesel

Islamabad, Nov 20 : The Pakistan government is learnt to have decided to immediately allow imports of 25,000 metric tons of petrol and 50,000 metric tons of high-speed diesel to avert an impending shortfall of fuels.

According to the Dawn, the decision was taken at a meeting of the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC), Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan Arab Refinery (Parco) held on Monday under Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

The prime minister first asked a Parco official whether it could import crude oil and refine it, instead of importing refined products, the Dawn quoted sources as saying. They added that the refinery has a capacity to process about 100,000 barrels of crude a day.

But the Parco official had informed the prime minister that an acute shortage of petrol and diesel was likely in the first week of January, and added that it took about "four to five weeks" to import crude and a few more weeks to refine and distribute it. Therefore, meeting the deadline would be difficult, he added.

The time factor, the Parco official said, was a big hurdle. And therefore, the government should import refined products instead of crude.

ANI