{"id":13261,"date":"2026-03-17T08:33:35","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=13261"},"modified":"2026-03-17T08:33:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T08:33:37","slug":"subsidised-fuel-scheme-on-the-cards-for-bikes-rickshaws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=13261","title":{"rendered":"Subsidised fuel scheme on the cards for bikes, rickshaws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2022 Senate panel told ample petrol, diesel available; import of lower-quality fuel okayed; price hike \u2018did not benefit\u2019 OMCs
\u2022 Officials tell panel no LNG supply from Qatar since March 2, gas will not be available after April 14
\u2022 Petrol committee briefed March fuel requirements fully secured, coverage available up to mid-April<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has planned a subsidised fuel scheme for motorcyclists and rickshaw drivers to cushion the impact of a massive hike in oil prices, following a similar move by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe government is working on a package to provide relief to (owners of) motorcycles and rickshaws,\u201d said newly appointed petr\u00adoleum secretary, Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, while testifying before the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He claimed that the government had taken measures which would \u201cprovide relief to the people\u201d. On Sunday, the government increased <\/a>the price of kerosene oil by Rs40 per litre and approved Rs23 billion for oil marketing companies, as it kept the petrol and high-speed diesel prices unchanged for the current week. Earlier this week, there was a Rs55 hike<\/a> in the price of petrol due to the Iran war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Sheikh told the Senate panel chaired by Senator Manzoor Ahmed that Pakistan had sufficient petrol reserves for 27 days and diesel reserves for 21 days. The secretary added that jet fuel (JP1) reserves were available for 14 days, crude oil reserves for 11 days, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) reserves for nine days. The Senate panel was also informed that the government had allowed the import of oil that falls short of the Euro 5 standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Sheikh said that 70 per cent of Pakistan\u2019s petrol comes from the Middle East, adding that the price of high-speed diesel rose from $88 to $187, while petrol increased from $74 to $130 due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuel availability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, a petrol monitoring committee led<\/a> by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb noted the country\u2019s fuel availability for March was fully secured, while coverage was available up to mid-April based on current cargo planning and supply arrangements. Efforts were underway to extend coverage further towards the end of April, the ministerial committee noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOverall stock levels and scheduled imports indicate that the country maintains comfortable inven\u00adtories of crude oil and key petroleum products for Mar\u00adch, with sufficient planning in place to ensure continued availability during April,\u201d said a statement issued after the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting was informed that procurement strategies were already moving towards greater diversification, with efforts underway to broaden sourcing from the international market and reduce reliance on any single corridor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister noted that the current stock position and supply outlook remain stable and that, based on the reports presented, there was no basis for panic buying or unnecessary stockpiling of fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting directed the relevant authorities, in coordination with the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) and the provincial governments, to closely monitor stock levels and market activity to deter hoarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price hike scrutinised<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the Senate committee meeting, Senator Manzoor Ahmed alleged that the \u201centire benefit was passed on\u201d to oil marketing companies, while following the international price increase, consumers were charged high prices on stocks that had already been purchased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, the petroleum secretary said that the price was hiked to stop hoarding, adding that this \u201cdid not benefit oil marketing companies\u201d. He said oil marketing companies continued to import despite the increase in prices, adding the move had \u201caffected oil marketing com\u00ad\u00adpanies across the country\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked by Senator Hidaya\u00ad\u00ad\u00adtullah about petroleum product prices before March 7 and the extent of their increase, Ogra officials said diesel prices had risen by 100pc, while petrol had increased by 70pc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSixty per cent of India\u2019s petrol imports have been affected \u2026 All countries are trying to ensure the safe supply of petrol,\u201d Secr\u00adetary Sheikh said, adding that two of Pakistan\u2019s ships were also stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LNG imports<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials said that there were two agreements in place for LNG imports from Qatar but \u201cLNG supply from Qatar had been completely stopped since March 2\u201d. \u201cEight cargoes were scheduled to arrive in March, of which only two arrived, while six cargoes were expected in April\u201d but their arrival was uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The officials added that Sui Southern Gas Company had cut gas supply to a fertiliser plant by 50pc, and gas supply to the power sector had been reduced from 300 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) to 130 mmcfd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials said LNG would not be available in the country after April 14, and the power sector\u2019s gas requirements would not be met in April, adding that \u201cthe sector\u2019s needs will be met from other sources\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They further said that gas would be supplied to domestic consumers, while LNG could be purchased from the State Oil Company of the Azer\u00adbaijan Republic (Socar). However, spot purchases would cost $24 per unit, while gas from Qatar was available at $9 per unit. \u201cThis will make electricity more expensive,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2022 Senate panel told ample petrol, diesel available; import of lower-quality fuel okayed; price hike \u2018did not benefit\u2019 OMCs\u2022 Officials tell panel no LNG supply from Qatar since March 2, gas will not be available after April 14\u2022 Petrol committee briefed March fuel requirements fully secured, coverage available up to mid-April ISLAMABAD: The federal government […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"no","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3859443944190656_828796993651875":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[{"account":"facebook_3859443944190656_828796993651875","service":"facebook","timestamp":1773736429,"status":"success"}],"rop_publish_now_status":"done","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13261"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13261\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13263,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13261\/revisions\/13263"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}