FPCCI demands equal treatment for oil market companies

KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has urged the government to equally treat all the oil marketing companies (OMCs), a statement said on Wednesday.

FPCCI president Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo expressed concerns over the unfair practices and treatment to smaller oil marketing companies and said that smooth functioning of the OMCs is indispensable for any economy and continuing investments in midstream and downstream sectors are eminent.

Maggo said that investigations and inquiries are still continuing over the June 2020 petrol crisis and are keeping the oil marketing companies unnecessarily occupied with the regulatory tangles.

He said if any wrongdoing was established on the basis of the inquiry report, the culprits should have been punished by now; instead of continuing with the inquiry incessantly.

The FPCCI chief said Pakistan’s midstream and downstream sectors need huge investments to increase refinery capacities and modernise their end-products to minimise carbon emissions.

The major part of these investments will come as the foreign direct investment (FDI) coupled with the technology transfer, and harassment of OMCs are proving to be detrimental already.

Maggo said that imposing fines and blocking no objection certificates (NOCs_ for retail outlets are creating a discouraging environment for the OMCs and the apex trade body has been approached by their representatives to make their voices heard.

He also raised the issue of profit margins for the oil marketing companies and questioned that when the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet decided back in 2014 that the profit margins of OMCs will be based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), why profit margins are not revised in a timely fashion. This practice will also prove discouraging for the new investors in the industry, he added.

The FPCCI is ever-ready to help resolve issues between the OMCs and the government bodies through dialogue and discussion, he added.

He emphasised it is in the larger national interest to encourage investments in the oil industry and investors should be treated with dignity.

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