Petroleum Ministry to negotiate with striking oil tankers' association today

KARACHI: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and All Pakistan Oil Tankers Association (APOTA) are expected to meet later in the day today (Tuesday) to negotiate over demands of the protesting association as it continues its strike for the second consecutive day.

APOTA went on a countrywide strike on Monday in protest against the safety rules imposed by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and 'unfair' fines levied by the motorway police, the association’s chairperson Yousaf Shahwani had said.

“OGRA and the motorway police are being unfair,” Shawani said in a statement on Monday, adding the owners of oil tankers pay advance tax for three months to the government, but it was not giving them any relief. “They’re instead exploiting us.”

He further alleged that the National Highway and Motorwau Police were levying penalties on oil tankers, as the patrol police continued to harass oil tanker owners in Punjab. In Sindh, he said, the excise police was extorting them.

Heads of OGRA, oil marketing companies and oil tankers owners association have not met ever since the Petroleum Ministry handed over the matters of oil tankers to OGRA, Shahwani said. “Whatever decisions are implemented, they are made behind closed doors.”

The association members have decided not to supply oil to fuel stations in protest for an indefinite period until their demands are met.

On the other hand, OGRA will start checking the tankers being used by oil marketing companies. According to sources, it is feared many oil tankers do not fulfil the quality criteria.

OGRA decided to implement the safety rules after the horrific incident in Ahmedpur East, which claimed lives of over 200 people.

On June 25, an oil tanker overturned in Bahawalpur’s Ahmedpur East. The oil that leaked from the toppled vehicle attracted people from the surrounding areas who rushed to collect oil. It was then that the spilled oil exploded in an inferno, killing several dozens on the spot.

'Ample fuel reserves at stations'

Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association Chairman Abdul Sami Khan on Monday said oil in sufficient quantity was present in reserves of fuel stations.

“Measures have been taken to avoid any inconvenience to the public,” Khan said in an exclusive conversation with Geo News.

According to an official in the Ministry of Petroleum, there is no shortage of oil in the country as the current stock of petrol stands at 210,000 metric tonnes. Four ships are available with 1,106,000 metric tonnes of petrol and over 400,000 metric tonnes of diesel, the official said in a statement on Monday.

However, the supply of oil from Kemari and Port Qasim was nearly suspended.

At least 600 tankers at Port Qasim were stopped from transporting oil to different parts of the country while 300 others were put on a standstill, Oil Tanker Contractor Association’s Babar Ismail said.