WASIM IQBAL

ISLAMABAD: The Petroleum Division has announced decrease in ex-depot prices of petrol and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) for September 23, following global oil price fluctuations linked to the Middle East conflict.

According to the official notification, the ex-depot price of petrol fell by Rs1.70 per litre from Rs393.75 to Rs392.05 per litre. While HSD price dropped by Rs3.12 per litre to Rs418.96 per litre.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) calculated these adjusted rates using a seven-working-day rolling average of the daily Platts Arab Gulf Means Price. During this period, the average petrol price shifted to USD 132.30 per barrel (compared to USD 133.27 per bbl on September 22), while HSD decreased to USD 121.34 per barrel from USD 123.12 per bbl. Pakistan imported more than 80 percent of its total consumption through import of refined petroleum products.

A Petroleum Division notification states that levies and profit margins remain largely steady across both products. The change is recorded in import cost of both petroleum products. The import cost of petrol has been decreased to Rs281.49 per litre from Rs283.19 per litre, whereas, cost of HSD price has gone down to Rs312.05 per litre from Rs315.17 per litre.

The government levies and fixed profit margins for petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) remain unchanged. Both fuels carry a Petroleum Levy of Rs80 per litre, a Climate Support Levy of Rs5 per litre, and profit margins of Rs9.98 per litre for dealers and Rs7.87 per litre for oil marketing companies. Meanwhile, customs duties stay fixed at Rs23.68 per litre for petrol and Rs15.68 per litre for HSD, while the Inland Freight Equalisation Margin (IFEM) has been adjusted at Rs7.71 on petrol and Rs4.06 per litre on HSD.