Amidst the ongoing tension in West Asia and the Iran-America conflict, a big revelation has come to light regarding fuel safety in Pakistan. Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Ali Malik admitted that the country does not have a strong system called Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He said that Pakistan does not have such oil reserves which can be used immediately in an emergency.
This statement of Ali Malik has come at a time when huge fluctuations are being seen in the prices of crude oil across the world and there is also concern about the Strait of Hormuz. The minister admitted that the current situation has completely exposed the weaknesses of Pakistan’s energy security.
‘Can’t extract oil from one sign like India’
In an interview given to Pakistan’s private channel Sama TV, Ali Malik gave the example of India and said that the situation in Pakistan is completely different from India. He said that India has large-scale strategic oil reserves, which the government can use immediately if needed.
War and global crisis increased concern
Ali Malik admitted that the ongoing war in West Asia is a big warning sign for Pakistan. He says that if the global supply chain is affected or the crisis on sea routes increases, then Pakistan may face a serious fuel crisis. He said that the country will now have to focus on long-term energy preparedness. The need to increase storage capacity and create strategic reserves is being felt more than ever.
Why did the plan get stuck?
According to the Petroleum Minister, research has already been done to create strategic oil reserves in Pakistan. An independent consultant had also prepared a detailed report on how such reserves could be created in the country. However, this plan has not been implemented yet. The minister said that developing an oil storage system on such a large scale would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, which remains a big challenge for the economic condition of Pakistan.
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