Pakistan will move to a daily petroleum price revision system after the federal cabinet approved a new mechanism designed to respond more rapidly to fluctuations in global oil markets amid the ongoing tensions in West Asia.
The decision brings an end to the weekly fuel price review arrangement introduced earlier this year and transfers the responsibility for determining petroleum prices to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).
According to PTI, the government said the revised system aims to improve transparency and ensure that domestic fuel prices remain closely aligned with international market movements.
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced the cabinet’s decision during a press conference on Friday.
Malik said the government had authorised OGRA, Pakistan’s oil and gas regulatory body, to set petroleum prices on a daily basis. He said the regulator would oversee the process and announce fuel rates regularly.
OGRA would “not just publish the fuel rates on its website that are used to determine prices, but also publish the factors leading to the price that we see in each petrol pump”.
According to PTI, Pakistan had shifted to weekly petroleum price adjustments after the outbreak of the US-Iran war in late February, replacing the previous fortnightly review system. However, the weekly mechanism faced criticism over delays in transferring reductions in international oil prices to consumers.
Malik explained that daily price announcements would still be calculated using a seven-day average of international market prices.
He said the new approach was part of the government’s broader effort to create a more transparent pricing structure, allowing consumers to better understand the reasons behind fuel price increases.
According to PTI, Malik further stated that Pakistan’s fuel prices would eventually be adjusted according to global market conditions without requiring consultations with other parties as part of the government’s deregulation measures.
Speaking about efforts to increase domestic energy output, Malik said Turkish Petroleum, Turkiye’s state-owned oil and gas company, would start exploration activities in Pakistan in October. The move follows Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to Turkiye and marks the return of the company to Pakistan’s energy sector after a 20-year gap.
Tarar said rising international oil prices were a result of the deteriorating regional situation. He added that Pakistan’s attempts to help resolve the crisis had been “appreciated by the entire world”.
Meanwhile, the All Pakistan Petrol Pump Owners’ Association opposed the proposed deregulation policy, warning that it could lead to protests and a strike next week if the decision was not reversed.
Association Vice Chairman Noman Ali Butt urged the government to reconsider the policy and avoid shifting the impact of its challenges onto petrol pump owners.
“All stakeholders should be taken into confidence before fixing rates with oil marketing companies,” he said in a video statement.
Butt said nearly 15,000 petrol pump owners nationwide had expressed serious reservations about the proposed system. He warned that the changes could affect oil tankers, transportation operations and the overall fuel pricing framework, and called on the government to consult petrol pump owners before implementing the reforms.
