Probe ordered against OMCs for petroleum crisis after cabinet report

ISLAMABAD: The cabinet committee report on the petroleum crisis has Saturday prompted the federal government, petroleum division, and oil regulatory to launch a crackdown against oil marketing companies of the country, ARY News reported.

According to the sources privy to the development inside the cabinet meeting, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has been instructed by the government to take stern measures against the OMCs for orchestrating the petroleum crisis in Pakistan.

Keeping in consideration the cabinet committee report commissioned to learn the factors behind the crisis, the government has approved of the recommendations put forward and has directed a monitoring cell be put up in the petroleum division.

This means the government will not rely on the data compiled and furnished by the advisory committee but will instead set up a testing lab for the purpose.

The petroleum division will be roiled in the probe for issuing provisional licenses to OMCs and allowing illicit joint ventures and private storages of petroleum products which played as catalysts in the crises, the sources have confirmed.

It may be noted that late last month Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Nadeem Babar has resigned from his post after premier Imran Khan asked him to leave his post owing to a probe regarding the fuel crisis during June 2020 in the country.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar divulged the decisions made by the prime minister besides also announcing strict actions against oil companies and bureaucracy in a presser today.