ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is staring at a potential shortage of diesel as the country is left with only five days of diesel stocks after oil prices in the international market spiralled to USD 112 per barrel following Russia's military offensive in Ukraine last month, according to a media report on Monday.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, distillate fuel oil inventories in the US fell by 21 per cent to 30 million barrels that were below the pre-pandemic five-year seasonal average and at the lowest level since 2005.
The stock in Europe also fell by 8 per cent to 35 million barrels -- below the pre-pandemic five-year average at the lowest level since 2008.
The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), a body of oil industry, had warned the Pakistan government about such a scenario due to the paucity of diesel stocks globally, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.
Pakistani banks had also put oil firms in high-risk categories and refused to grant loans, the report said. The OCAC has urged Pakistani Central Bank governor's intervention on this issue.
The Pakistan State Oil (PSO) -- the state-run oil marketing company -- has informed the energy ministry (petroleum division) about the situation in a letter sent to the director general oil, the report said.
The company pointed out that oil marketing companies (OMCs) had defaulted in oil imports, especially high-speed diesel (HSD), from December to March because of the Russia-Ukraine war, it said The PSO said it had resulted in a shortfall of 205,000 metric tonnes of diesel imports from January to March 2022, it added.