The government on Wednesday decided to withdraw the authority of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to decide prices of petroleum products. According to sources, the market will determine the prices of petroleum products starting from November. An important meeting was held under the chairmanship of OGRA Chairman Masroor Khan. The heads of oil marketing companies, petroleum division and other officials participated in the meeting. According to the sources, the issue of deregulating the prices of petroleum products was discussed in detail in the meeting. Oil refineries and other…
Read MoreYear: 2022
China Agrees to Pay for Russian Gas in Roubles and Yuan: Gazprom
Russia’s energy giant Gazprom says it has signed an agreement with China to start payments for gas supplies to China in yuan and roubles instead of US dollars, in a sign of warming relations between Beijing and Moscow, which is under Western sanctions. “The new payment mechanism is a mutually beneficial, timely, reliable and practical solution,” Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller was quoted as saying in a statement following a video conference meeting with the head of China’s oil group CNPC, Dai Houliang. Miller added that it will “simplify calculations” and…
Read MoreOil Falls as Demand Fears Overtake OPEC Led Rally
Oil prices sank on Tuesday after a two-day rally as concern returned about weaker demand and the prospect of more interest rate hikes trumped support from Opec+’s first output target cut since 2020. Brent crude was down $3.26, or 3.4 per cent, to $92.48 at 11:27 a.m. EDT (1527 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell from Monday’s trading to $86.37, down 50 cents or 0.6pc from Friday’s close. Technical factors, including that the U.S. benchmark has been trading since Sunday without settlement due to the Labor Day holiday, helped…
Read MoreAlarming Rs2.7tr Hike in July Debt
In an alarming development, public debt in July increased by Rs2.7 trillion – at an average of Rs88 billion a day – almost entirely because of the government’s revaluation of external debt due to 17% currency depreciation in a single month. With the fresh addition of Rs2.7 trillion in the month of July, the total debt, that is the direct responsibility of the federal government, has shot up to a new record of Rs50.5 trillion, according to figures released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Tuesday. The total…
Read MoreApproval of New Refining Policy Linked to Deregulation
Approval of the much-delayed refining policy has now been linked with deregulation, with a top government official seeking input from local refineries for deregulation, which could also mean uneven POL prices across Pakistan. A top government official said that it was high time to deregulate the whole oil and gas sector, including refineries. The deregulation could be in full or done in phases. The official said that the “irritatingly long delay” in the approval of the new refining policy was a major hurdle in upgrading existing refineries and setting up…
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