Petroleum Division cautions against binge buying

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Energy's Petroleum Division on Sunday cautioned people against "binge buying", saying that Pakistan had sufficient stocks to cater to its oil demand for the next 15 days. The statement was issued following reports speculating on a shortage in the country's fuel reserves. The Petroleum Division noted that high sales volumes were witnessed on May 1 and 2 "due to sizable reductions in price of POL for which petrol pumps didn't procure POL [petroleum oil lubricants]" from the oil marketing companies (OMCs). "However, sufficient stocks of petrol (285,000 MTs) and diesel (350,000 MTs) are available to cater the demand of country for next 15 days," read a statement on Twitter. "Further, PSO's 2 vessels carrying around 50,000 MTs & 55,000 MTs petrol & diesel, respectively, have berthed at Keamari Port & Port Qasim," it added. This means that the state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has two ships — carrying 50,000 metric tonnes and 55,000 metric tonnes of petrol & diesel, respectively — ready to be distributed.