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Govt may allow private sector to import furnace oil

ASIF FAROOQI

ISLAMABAD: The government is considering a proposal to allow the private sector to import furnace oil for their needs Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said.

Talking to reporters at his office, Abdullah Yusuf confirmed that the government was considering seriously the demands of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for doing away with the government control on the oil import.

Permission to import furnace oil for the domestic consumption was a major demand of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) during their negotiations with the government on tariff issue.

According to the information, Hub Power Company has also demanded the government to allow it to import furnace oil for its power plant. "This is a pre-condition by the Power Company for bringing down the tariff by 17.3 percent," the sources said.

The petroleum secretary told reporters the government was seriously considering deregulating the furnace oil import, as is the case with the import mechanism of edible oil.

He said the government was not earning profit by importing the furnace oil. "The government revenue comes from the GST which is imposed on it" he added.