The Chairman of the Standing Committee on Petroleum, Ghulam Mustafa Mehmood, has expressed worries about the poor quality of oil generated by the local refineries, suggesting that this is linked to the increasing rates of asthma and cancer patients in Pakistan.
In a meeting that was conducted on Thursday, Ghulam Mustafa Mahmood claimed that five refineries must sign agreements to align with international standards by 22 October, emphasizing that the low-grade oil they are refining poses serious health issues.
The meeting also included dialogues and conversations with senior officials from the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, OGDCL, and Pakistan Petroleum Limited, PPL, who were stated to be in London for talks and dialogues related to the recording Reko Diq project. Secretary of Petroleum, Momin Agha, further explained that Petroleum Minister, Musadik Malik, was attending the Russian Energy Week during this time and that the London meetings were highly significant for the projects at hand. During the session, the Director General of Oil suggested and pointed out that local refineries presently meet only the Euro 2 standard for oil quality. Â
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However, the Managing Director of Pakistan State (PSO), emphasized maintaining a 3% guaranteed return for the refineries. Despite these financial incentives, Chairman Mehmood articulated and conveyed disappointment over the lack of improvement in product quality and reiterated the urgent requirements for refineries to improve their output for the safety of the masses.
Some other impacts of low-quality oil
If oil quality doesn’t align with international standards, these impacts can occur. Firstly, it will be the cause of increased human diseases like bronchitis, lung cancer, and asthma. Secondly, higher emissions from low-quality fuels will lead to poor air quality and environmental damage. Ultimately, continued use of low-grade fuels can be the cause of contributing to higher carbon dioxide emissions and increasing global warming. Thirdly, Pakistan can encounter sanctions or reduce trade opportunities with other countries that only accept high-standard oil or refined oil. Likely, investors may be deterred from investing heavily in Pakistan’s energy sector if they look at it as failing to modernize and align with global environmental objectives.
The oil export market of Pakistan may shrink as purchasers prefer those countries that generate cleaner, high-grade oil, making it complicated for Pakistan to compete worldwide. Fourthly, if a country fails to meet global oil standards, it can damage the international image of Pakistan, particularly in terms of environmental responsibility and sustainability, and it can restrict the participation of Pakistan in global climate initiatives, isolating the country from key international partnerships and agreements.
So it’s the crucial duty of the gov to bring some reforms and measures to make the quality of oil better that should be aligned with international standards