ISLAMABAD: The Petroleum Division and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Tuesday snubbed the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) for alleging “price manipulation” of high-speed diesel (HSD) in last week’s adjustment of petroleum prices to their disadvantage.

A word-to-word statement released separately by the Petroleum Division and Ogra claimed the price cuts were done “strictly in accordance with the formula approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet of July 28, 2020” and hence “the assertions of the oil industry on pricing mechanism as well as supply disruptions are baseless and unacceptable”.

Both the agencies rebutted “resentment shown by the oil industry questioning the fair and correct reduction in prices of petrol and diesel effective from July 16, 2023. The criticism is unsubstantiated and against the policy guidelines issued by the federal government”, they said.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2023