KARACHI, Dec 17: The country has around one week’s diesel reserves, but the oil-marketing companies (OMCs) dispel any fear of energy crisis in the near future.

They appear optimistic and hold that consumers would not feel the pinch of any shortage as there would be no dryness of diesel at pumps in any part of the country.

On Dec 12, the Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) had come out with a statement that “the countrywide diesel reserves as on Dec 11 are for 11 days.”

The representatives of oil sector value-chain confirmed that fluctuation of stock levels is a normal phenomenon which is linked with sales, seasonality and other operational factors.

The OCAC had further mentioned in the statement that five vessels, carrying about 235,000 MT of HSD, are expected in the remaining days of December which would further improve the HSD days’ cover of the industry.

Officials in the OMCs believe that some dealers are making panic-buying of diesel on reports swirling in markets for the last few weeks about possible increase in diesel prices.

They are of the view that country’s diesel stocks would improve on the eve of Eid holidays when transport movement comes to a halt. In the meantime, tankers carrying foreign diesel will continue to arrive and refineries will maintain their production during holidays.

Country’s diesel stocks are not at a critical level, they claim.

However, an official in the OCAC, who asked not to be named, said country’s diesel stocks now stand for six to eight days.

When asked whether OCAC had received any report of diesel shortage from other parts of the country, he said there was no widespread shortage of diesel in the country, but there might be a negligible scarcity in some parts.

He said diesel shipments from abroad had been in the pipeline. Around 50,000 tons is arriving tomorrow while two more ships, carrying 50,000 tons each, will take berths after two days.

General Manager (External Affairs), Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL), Abid Saeed Ibrahim, said he had checked supply at company’s countrywide over 1,000 outlets where diesel is available in ample supplies.

The company has provided diesel to dealers, and it was more than their demand which means there should absolutely be no problem at consumers’ level, he said. He said the SPL had issued two tenders last week for importing 47,000 tons each of diesel and one is firm tender and other is optional.

Abid said the company was making every endeavor to ensure prompt diesel availability in the country.

He was of the view that demand of diesel had gone up because of big fall in arrival of diesel from Iran through illegal channels. Besides, diesel consumption had also risen.

Sale of diesel had surged by 14 per cent during July-November 2007 to 3.4 million tons.

Increase in trading activities during Kharif harvesting season has also pushed up diesel demand by the transportation sector.

Chairman, Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA), Abdul Sami Khan, said he did not receive any complaint from his members in the country about dryness of diesel on Monday. However, he recalled that diesel was not available at pumps in the interior of Sindh and Punjab on Dec 10-11.

He said that the OMCs had been trying to maintain supply of diesel in main cities and they knew that shortage in far-flung areas would go unnoticed as compared to hue and cry in case of main cities.

For the last 20 days, the OMCs had been providing lesser quantities of diesel to dealers. If a pump desired for two to three days requirement, it was getting supply of one day.

He said the OMCs had been giving multiple reasons for curtailing supplies to dealers.

Usually a pump maintains three to four days requirement depending upon the under ground tank storage, ranging between 15,000-30,000 litres.

Sources in Pakistan State Oil (PSO) said there was no shortage of diesel in the country and the product was available in over 3,800 pumps in the country.

Supply of diesel had been going on and there were no reports of dry out in any part of the country, they said.

PSO had imported 90,000 tons of diesel last week while another shipment of 45,000 tons is arriving on Tuesday.