Summary The shortage is expected to get better within 4-5 days
LAHORE (Dunya News) - As petrol shortage hits various parts of Pakistan, people were anxious to know why this shortage occurred and when will it be resolved. The main reasons for this crisis have been linked to overall increase in consumption of petrol and the unavailability of CNG in the country by government sources.
According to the details, commuters and citizens with vehicles were seen anxiously waiting in long queues on various petrol stations in the country as severe petroleum crisis hit Pakistan. Irritated and angry over the shortage, people drove from one petrol pump to the next in a desperate search for petrol. The crisis has worsened day by day in this week.
Government and media sources in seeking answers for this crisis, say an unexpected increase of 25% in petrol consumption has been observed. This coupled with the closure of CNG in the northern parts of the country lead to an imbalance in the supply and demand of petroleum resulting in a severe shortage.
Government does not see the debt of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) estimated at about Rs 200 billion as a reason for the shortage. PSO does business of around Rs 1200 billion every year and a debt of Rs 200 billion is seen as normal.
The shortage is expected to get better within 4-5 days as 3 ships carrying petroleum are to reach Pakistan on 18th January 2015.
According to government sources, countries like US and India have provided low relief to its consumers. On the other hand, Pakistan has provided the highest relief for its consumers through great reductions in petroleum prices. He also stated that petrol prices are expected to go down further at the end of this month.
This is not the first time that Pakistan has seen a petrol shortage. A crisis was also seen in the winter of 2012-13 as huge queues similar to ones now were seen in Islamabad and various other cities.
