Petrol price in Pakistan for first fortnight of February 2024 to be unveiled soon

ISLAMABAD: The government is gearing up for its third fortnightly review of petrol and diesel prices in 2024, set to determine the rates for the first two weeks of February 2024.

The deliberations come at a crucial juncture, as global crude prices have experienced a recent uptick due to a drop in production triggered by severe winter storms in January 2024.

The official notification for the petrol price will be released by the government before 11:59 pm on Wednesday, January 31. The new petrol price will take effect on Thursday, February 1, and will remain in effect until February 15.

As of now, there is no clear indication of whether Pakistan will witness an increase in petrol prices, and the fate of diesel price also remains uncertain.

The global crude market has been grappling with the aftermath of winter storms, causing a substantial decline in oil production.

It is currently uncertain whether Pakistani consumers will experience an increase in the per-liter petrol and diesel prices.

In the last fortnightly review, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) announced a noteworthy reduction of Rs8 per litre in petrol price.

Meanwhile, the price of high-speed diesel in Pakistan was maintained at Rs276.21 per litre.

Presently, the current petrol price in Pakistan stands at Rs259.34 per litre, with slight, few paisa variations in major cities like Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and Islamabad due to different ex-depot rates.

Furthermore, high-octane petrol is presently being sold at around Rs294.88 per litre at urban petrol pumps.

Observers speculate that the new petrol price price set to take effect in February 2024 might witness adjustments influenced by the recent surge in global market rates.

Recent disruptions in US crude oil production have impacted global oil prices. US crude oil prices rose by about 1 per cent after domestic production fell significantly due to severe winter storms.

The West Texas Intermediate futures contract for March settled at $75.09 a barrel, while the Brent futures contract for March settled at $80.04 a barrel.

The Energy Information Agency reported a 1 million barrel per day decrease in US production for the week ending Jan. 19, with a 9.2 million barrel drop in commercial crude inventories.

North Dakota, a key crude-producing state, experienced a substantial reduction in output, with production down 700,000 barrels per day.

However, recovery is underway, with production down 170,000 to 220,000 barrels per day.

In a separate development, the Government of Pakistan has executed Petroleum Concession Agreements (PCA) and Exploration Licences (EL) for eight blocks, involving four companies:

United Energy Pakistan Limited (UEP), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL).

The Ministry of Energy’s Petroleum Division shared this news on social media, highlighting a minimum investment of over $33.3 million in three years by the exploration and production companies in these blocks.

Additionally, the companies are obligated to allocate a minimum of $30,000 per year for social welfare schemes in the respective areas.

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