Petrol price relief in Pakistan of about Rs15 a litre is now being arranged so shop-floor rates do not rise with wartime import premiums, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in Islamabad. Ministers framed the step as a cross-subsidy with local refineries of about Rs15 billion a month. Separately, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA, the federal fuel-price regulator) has quantified a consumer contribution of Rs14.71 a litre after refineries were ordered to surrender the extra wartime premium on motor spirit.
Tarar said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed that an increase of Rs15 a litre should not be passed to the public and that refineries would carry the monthly cost instead. Malik thanked domestic refiners for absorbing the anticipated rise and said interim pricing would keep domestic petrol about Rs15 a litre below international market rates. He said a further meeting with refinery representatives was scheduled for Tuesday to refine the mechanism.
How the wartime premium is being clawed back
According to an OGRA letter to the Petroleum Division, refineries must surrender Rs49.02 a litre into the petroleum levy (PL) account. That figure is the gap between the notified import or ex-refinery price—built on the prevailing Pakistan State Oil cargo premium, customs duty and incidentals—and the entitled ex-refinery price using the premium, duty and incidentals of 7 March 2026. OGRA said the surrender equals Rs14.71 a litre toward the overall PL of Rs80 a litre when measured on countrywide volume.
Until 30 October, prices were set on an import-parity basis that also let local plants apply the PSO premium to fuel made in Pakistan. On that date the PSO premium stood at 25.52 US dollars a barrel, so local output was priced as if it carried the same wartime cost. From 31 October the government capped the premium at the 7 March (pre-war) level and took the difference as PL. After counting the Rs14.71 surrender, the levy charged to oil marketing companies was Rs65.29 a litre while the headline PL stayed at Rs80.
The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) told Pakistan’s six local refineries—Pak-Arab Refinery Limited, Pakistan Refinery Limited, Attock Refinery Limited, National Refinery Limited, Cnergyico Refinery Limited and ENAR—that the Federal Cabinet approved the revised motor spirit pricing for the Iran-US war period to shield consumers from volatile premiums and route delays. The new mechanism is to remain in place for the next 30 days. Refineries were told to deposit the differential PL into account head C03901 and to report domestic motor spirit sales daily, with payment challans, to the Petroleum Division and OGRA.
PM Fuel Relief Scheme and public reassurance
Alongside the refinery arrangement, Tarar said the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme has already helped more than 15 million people, with Rs27 billion disbursed for subsidised petroleum products. He said the scheme covers motorcycles, Qingqi rickshaws and vehicles with engines up to 800cc, that more than 15 million registrations are complete, and that pumps are being paid for fuel sold at the subsidised rate. He credited coordination among the Ministry of Information Technology, the Ministry of Petroleum, OGRA and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP, the central bank).
Malik said local production meets about 30 percent of Pakistan’s petrol demand, with imports covering the rest. Tarar and Malik told the public there was no fuel shortage and that national reserves were sufficient. Malik rejected rumours that LPG had risen to Rs700 a kilogramme. Tarar urged people not to spread unverified claims about essential supplies.
This petrol price relief in Pakistan therefore rests on two tracks: a broad, time-limited clawback of wartime premiums into the levy, and ongoing targeted subsidies for smaller vehicles under the PM scheme.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 7 March 2026: Premium, customs duty and incidentals used as the baseline for the entitled ex-refinery price under the revised formula.
- 30 October: Import-parity pricing with the PSO premium still applied to local petrol; PSO premium at 25.52 US dollars a barrel; PL on petrol kept at Rs80 a litre.
- 31 October: Premium capped at the 7 March level; the difference taken as petroleum levy for consumer relief.
- Early November (ministers’ Monday briefing): Government announces about Rs15 a litre relief via a roughly Rs15 billion monthly refinery arrangement; Tarar cites Rs27 billion already paid to over 15 million PM scheme beneficiaries.
- Tuesday after the briefing: Petroleum ministry follow-up meeting with refinery representatives to refine the mechanism.
- Next 30 days from the Cabinet mechanism: Revised wartime motor spirit pricing to remain in force.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Sarkar ne kaha hai ke petrol roughly 15 rupay fi litre sasta rakha ja raha hai taake jang ke mahange premium seedha aam kharidaron par na aayein. Refineries ko wartime premium ka farq petroleum levy mein jama karna hai, jisse OGRA ke hisab se roughly 14.71 rupay fi litre rahaat banti hai. Chhoti gaariyon, motorcycle aur Qingqi walon ke liye PM Fuel Relief Scheme pehle se chal rahi hai, jismein 15 million se zyada logon ko Rs27 billion mil chuka hai. Agar aap roz petrol bharwate hain, to yeh steps price pressure kam rakhne ki koshish hain—lekin scheme ki riyayat sirf eligible chhote vehicles ke liye hai.
