KARACHI, Sept 16: For the second consecutive day, the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) on Monday failed to announce any revision in petroleum prices for the period September 15-30.

The revision was due on September 15 but representatives of the OCAC, after holding meeting as per routine on Sunday, left the office without any announcement.

Same exercise was repeated on Monday, and the committee faxed message to newspaper offices stating “that the price announcement would not be made today (Monday).”

The official statement has been silent on the reasons that led to failure in making any revision in prices on September 15 and 16.

However, an official in the OCAC said that the price announcement is expected on Tuesday.

The oil marketing companies (OMCs), that were entrusted the job to revise diesel prices fortnightly after its deregulation on September 1, also followed the footsteps of the OCAC.

Officials in leading OMCs, when contacted by Dawn, adopted dilly-dallying tactics by not giving genuine reasons that why diesel as well as other oil products prices had not been revised. “We simply do not know why fortnightly prices have not been announced on Sunday and Monday,” said OMCs officials.

One official in a leading OMC said that there had been pressure from the Petroleum Ministry to put on hold the price revision on both the days. However, actual reasons could not be known immediately.

However, on Monday, the OMCs, in a surprise move, enhanced the furnace oil prices by 5.5 to 5.8 per cent.

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has raised the price of high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) to Rs13,258 per ton from Rs12,532 ton while Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL) has surged the price to Rs13,240 from Rs12,550. The new prices have been effective from Tuesday.

Sources in oil sector said that the increase in fuel oil prices gives an impression that other oil product prices must have gone up in this fortnight keeping in view the rising trend in international oil prices since the US-Iraq tension.

It could not be known why the OCAC as well as the OMCs have been tight-lipped on the price revision on other oil products.

Oil analysts had already forecast a hike of two to six per cent in domestic oil prices on September 15 in view of rising global prices.

“The oil market is now engulfed in confusion.” oil sector sources said, smelling some “political reasons” that have been causing delays in announcement of prices.

“This is not truly a deregulated regime of the oil sector as has been claimed by the government,” said oil analysts adding that it is strange that diesel prices are still being controlled by the government despite its complete deregulation.

The OCAC had kept the prices of petrol, diesel, HOBC and kerosene “unchanged” for three consecutive fortnights — March 31, April 15 and April 30 despite the fact that their revision was due.

The reason for keeping the prices unchanged during that period was political (referendum) and not economic.