Govt’s failure to reduce sulphur content in diesel slammed
By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, Oct 24: The Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the government’s inability to reduce sulphur content in diesel despite the doling out of billions of rupees of public money in incentives to refineries.
“The add-ons were allowed to oil refineries back in early 2000 to reduce sulphur and this grace period ended in 2003 but these could neither improve the quality nor pass on the benefit to the end users, i.e. consumers,” said the committee.
The government had allowed local refineries in 2000 to charge 10 per cent duty on the sale of high speed diesel and six per cent on kerosene, jet fuel and light diesel with the condition that such revenues should be used through a reserve fund for re-configuration of refineries, latest by 2003, to meet the Euro-II standards envisaging low sulphur content. About Rs50 billion were collected through this levy in about seven years but none of it was used for technology up gradation.
The committee meeting, presided over by ruling party Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas, on Wednesday criticised the government at the fag-end of its tenure on almost all counts except lending support to the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project.
“It expresses deep concern over the fact that a higher sulphur content in diesel is worsening the problem of vehicular emissions, which poses a serious threat to public health and environment,” the committee said in a statement.
The committee noted that world over the target had been achieved in 1993 but the Pakistan government extended the deadline to 2010. It directed the ministry of petroleum and natural resources to ensure hydro desulphurisation of diesel by oil refineries in Pakistan in accordance with the European standards to achieve the Euro-II specification of high speed diesel by 2010.
The committee recommended that any refinery not complying with the instructions regarding sulphur contents should not be allowed to sell its products as human health was more important than everything else.
The committee also expressed ‘its concern and dismay’ over increase in prices and shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) every year during winter. It directed the petroleum ministry to instruct the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to monitor the prices regularly so that the gas remained available to the general public at a reasonable price. The committee also instructed the government to ensure that a ban on LPG export remains fully implemented.
The committee criticised the government for allowing compressed natural gas (CNG) stations in over-crowded localities and residential areas.
The committee asked the government to examine the possibility of using ethanol as an alternative fuel.
The committee also directed the government to ensure that sub-standard gas heaters were not sold in the market by prescribing fixed safety standards since many people die every year in winters due to suffocation and leakage of gas.
The committee extended its unqualified support to the IPI gas pipeline and asked the government to ensure its implementation and final commissioning within the stipulated timeframe by expediting matters at home as well as bilaterally. It directed the ministry to brief the committee on progress made in the project every 6-8 weeks.
