ISLAMABAD: All oil tankers in the country are going to be equipped with trackers which would not only help trace their movements but also detect oil theft, officials of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) informed a sub-committee of the Senate on Friday.

The Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum was discussing a public petition filed against misappropriation of funds by oil marketing companies (OMCs) over inland freight equalisation margin (IFEM).

IFEM keeps prices of petroleum products uniform across the country and provide a level-playing field for all oil companies to run their businesses.

During the hearing, chairman of the sub-committee Senator Taj Muhammad Afridi initiated the discussion with the query that oil marketing companies were parking huge sum in the name of IFEM.

He said there was a possibility that an oil company buys oil product, say petrol or diesel, from a refinery and sells the whole cargo in the same district while bearing limited transportation cost. But if it can claim to have sold the cargoes in distant and remote parts of the country, it can show increased transportation bills.

While his assertion was denied by the industry players, Ogra officials said that directives have already been issued to all the OMCs that oil tankers will have to be equipped with trackers and their functioning would be ensured. The move will also help in tracing hijacked or stolen tankers, and in streamlining their movement.

The committee decided to discuss the matter in the next meeting in view of response submitted by the OMCs.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2016