The federal government owes oil marketing companies over Rs.71.49 billion in unpaid petroleum claims following its decision to freeze national fuel prices and absorb the difference.
According to media reports, these total claims involve more than 628 million litres of petrol and 487 million litres of diesel sold across the country between March 14 and April 2.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has suspended payments for several suspicious claims until a thorough verification process has been successfully completed by the relevant state officials.
For petrol sales during this brief period, local oil companies submitted claims exceeding Rs.46.19 billion to the national treasury for urgent financial reimbursement by the state.
The federal government has paid Rs.21.92 billion to cover the petrol price differential, which currently leaves Rs.24.26 billion outstanding to the major petroleum marketing firms.
Regulatory officials noted that more than 500 closed petrol pumps submitted claims worth billions of Rs. for the exact same period, raising immediate concerns of widespread fraud.
The state has halted these specific payments pending further investigation, and the regulatory authority has instructed all petrol pumps to submit 18 months of past electricity bills.
For diesel sales, companies reported selling more than 487 million litres, resulting in total claims that exceeded Rs.74.18 billion according to official data released by regulators.
The government has disbursed more than Rs.31.96 billion of this amount, which leaves more than Rs.42.22 billion in diesel claims unpaid to the suppliers.
Officials stated that all outstanding funds for both petrol and diesel will be released only after the complete verification of all supporting documentation is successfully finalised.
