ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: The World Bank fully supports Pakistan's Petroleum Sector Reform Programme and would continue to provide assistance in realising full benefits of the oil and gas sector liberalisation and reforms.

The Pakistan government has introduced improved product specifications in the market to ensure lead-free petrol, low-sulphur diesel and natural gas as a cleaner fuel replacing liquid fuels in the automotive and power generation sectors, a news release of the World Bank stated here on Tuesday.The World Bank has been an active partner in this endeavour, and upon the government request, it has provided technical assistance and advisory support in liberalising the sector.

The government has also undertaken a deregulation and reform programme in the past seven years. An enhanced level of exploration and production activity has been achieved and a number of new gas discoveries has been made, which enabled domestic gas production to increase by about 50 per cent from about 2.4 to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day.

A transparent gas pricing framework linking producer prices with consumer tariffs has been implemented and this has enabled gas companies to plan and undertake investments to transmit the increased volume of gas to consumers.

Petroleum downstream market has been deregulated, with fuel oil, diesel and LPG prices determined entirely by the market. For other products, prices were pegged to international prices and adjusted periodically. Due to the unprecedented hike in international oil prices, this process has been interrupted in recent months.

The Ogra has been established, which oversees the operation of the sector and arbiters the conflicting interests of different stakeholders (consumers, investors, government, etc), the release adds.

There is still an unfinished agenda, and reform measures in a number of areas are still pending, the government has adopted a step-by-step approach towards the implementation of these measures so as to make these sustainable.—APP