ISLAMABAD: Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has said the government cannot change petroleum levy targets set in the federal budget without consulting its multilateral partners.

“The targets for the petroleum levy are allocated in the budget, and we cannot change them without our multilateral partners,” Malik said while addressing a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum.

Committee Chairman Mustafa Mahmood stressed that diesel availability was more important than petrol as agriculture and goods transportation were heavily dependent on the fuel.

Committee member Saif-ul-Mulook Khokhar questioned the high petroleum levy on petrol and diesel, describing it as a heavy burden on the public and an easy means of tax collection.

Malik said regional tensions had affected the supply of petrol, diesel and crude oil, resulting in a major disruption to the country’s oil supply chain.

“The world has never seen diesel this expensive,” the minister said, adding that the government was aware of the difficulties being faced by the public.

He said the petroleum levy was a form of non-tax revenue, while Pakistan Peoples Party leader Naveed Qamar noted that parliamentarians did not vote on the levy as the matter remained within the executive’s domain.

“The levy is there, and it is Rs80-80,” Malik said, adding that all relevant information had been made available on the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) website.

Qamar also questioned the government’s role in determining petroleum product prices, noting that the pricing mechanism had shifted from a 30-day formula to a 15-day formula and was now moving towards daily pricing.

Malik said OGRA was responsible for determining petroleum product prices.

“If the diesel price were Rs600 per litre today, there would have been an uproar,” he said, adding that the government had improved the fuel supply chain and curbed profiteering.

The petroleum minister said around 70% of diesel was being refined locally, while Pakistan Refinery was operating at 84% capacity and National Refinery at 85%. PARCO, meanwhile, was operating at full capacity, he added.

Malik said four refineries had signed agreements to produce Euro V-compliant fuel, while negotiations were under way with another refinery.

He said the government was working on a winter plan on a daily basis and had ensured gas supplies to consumers during meal times despite difficult conditions.

“The fuel supply chain is being completely digitalised,” Malik said.