PSO has been suffering from a severe financial crisis due to
lack of payments from various sectors on account of supply of petroleum
products. Currently, the PSO owes National Refinery PKR 3.469 billion.
PSO stopped the payments of refineries a couple of days
back. These refineries are the suppliers of diesel, petrol, aviation fuel,
furnace oil etc. to the state-owned company, having the largest share in the
sales of petroleum products in the country.
“NRL has decided to halt the supply to PSO after the
stoppage of payment and intimated the OMC in written,” said sources familiar to
the development. They added, NRL was the first and other refineries might
follow suit.
PSO has been entangled in financial woes for the last many
years, but in recent months the situation has aggravated immensely as its
inter-corporate debt has increased to PKR1,024 billion with receivables at PKR762.653
billion and payables at PKR261.155 billion.
The
breakup of the PSO payments to the local refineries showed that it has to pay
PKR25 billion to Pak-Arab Refinery Company (PARCO), PKR10 billion to Pakistan
Refinery (PRL), PKR3.469 billion to National Refinery, PKR9.049 billion to
Attock Refinery (ARL), and PKR4.108 billion to Cnergyico.
Details of the company’s receivables show that the Sui
Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) has so far emerged as the biggest defaulter of
Pakistan State Oil.
The SNGPL owes PSO PKR492.102 billion as of March 08, 2023.
The power sector continues to haunt the state-owned oil
marketing company as it is required to PKR Rs178 billion followed by Pakistan
International Airlines (PIA) and the government of Pakistan, which owe PSO PKR92.5
billion.
The most crucial payment of PKR124.666 billion in the head
of LPS (late payment surcharge) is also part of the total receivables that have
soared to PKR762.653 billion.
