WASIM IQBAL

ISLAMABAD: The Petroleum Division has announced reduction in ex-depot prices for petrol and High-Speed Diesel (HSD) for September 24, following global oil price fluctuations linked to Middle East conflict.

According to the official notification, the ex-depot price of petrol has decreased by Rs1.93 per litre from Rs392.05 to Rs390.12 per litre, while HSD dropped by Rs4.21 per litre to settle at Rs414.75 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 131.20 per barrel as compared with USD 132.30 per bbl on September 23, while HSD decreased to USD 118.94 per barrel from USD 121.34 per bbl. Pakistan imported more than 80 percent of its total consumption through import of refined petroleum products.

The import cost of petrol has been decreased to Rs279.56 per litre from Rs281.49 per litre, whereas, cost of HSD price has gone down to Rs307.84 per litre from Rs312.05 per litre.

According to a Petroleum Division notification, government levies and fixed profit margins for petrol and 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.