• PM’s 30pc target stalls as OMCs expand outlets without chargers
• Petrol demand stays robust on two-wheeler boom

KARACHI: The government is considering several options to reduce the fuel import bill, the latest being the upgrade of refineries at an estimated cost of $6 billion. Earlier efforts to reduce petrol imports by promoting compressed natural gas (CNG) in the automotive sector faltered due to gas shortages.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for a 30 per cent shift to electric vehicles within five years to save $4.5bn annually on fuel imports. The initiative, however, is moving slowly due to inadequate infrastructure and a lack of charging stations.

Meanwhile, oil marketing companies (OMCs) remain focused on expanding retail fuel outlets, with limited investment in EV charging facilities.

Amid rising petrol and diesel prices following the Middle East crisis that began on Feb 28, consumers are gradually shifting to electrified vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) and pure battery EVs.

Financial statements of OMCs reflect continued retail expansion but little progress on charging infrastructure.

Wafi Energy Pakistan Ltd (WEPL), in its half-year results to June 30, reported adding 38 new Shell retail sites, 18 Select stores, two EV recharge facilities and upgrading eight existing sites.

It also inaugurated a 7.4-million-litre motor gasoline storage tank at its Tarru Jabba terminal in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to improve storage and supply resilience. The company plans to expand its Shell retail network further across northern Pakistan.

Pakistan State Oil (PSO) reported in its 9MFY26 report that it had deployed nine EV charging stations along the Karachi-to-Peshawar corridor. In its 1HFY26 report, it said its retail network had grown to 3,638 outlets nationwide after adding 107 outlets in FY25.

Attock Petroleum Ltd (APL), in the nine months to March 31, commissioned 33 new outlets, taking its network to 811. It is also expanding EV charging and on-grid solar installations at selected outlets and terminals, and progressing DC fast-charging infrastructure with Hubco Green and Huawei.

Industry stakeholders say petrol demand will remain robust as 60-65pc of two-wheelers run on petrol, and assembly of such vehicles continues to rise despite higher prices.

Pakistan assembled 2.416m two-wheelers in FY26, up from 1.692m in FY25.

“EVs will penetrate slowly and may replace petrol in the next five to six years,” a refinery official said, adding that demand destruction in the four-wheeler segment remains marginal.

An oil industry executive said about 70pc of petrol, or 5.5m tonnes, is imported annually, while local production is 2.5m tonnes.

He noted that globally, EV charging stations are located near shopping malls and residential areas, and many vehicle owners have home chargers. In Pakistan, however, the government is pressing OMCs to install chargers at fuel stations.

EV charging also takes considerably longer than refuelling, and fast chargers at stations require high-capacity transformers, which increase costs due to higher power consumption. “Hybrid vehicles are a better option than pure battery vehicles under current circumstances,” he said.

There are 4.5m petrol-driven vehicles, including decades-old models, still on the roads.

The country, however, needs refinery upgradation to replace ageing plants and remain competitive. Upgradation could also raise annual petrol and diesel output by one million tonnes and is vital for energy security.

All five refineries have informed Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik that they are ready to sign modernisation agreements to begin producing Euro-5-compliant fuel locally. The move aims to lower petrol and diesel import bills and prices, improve product quality and efficiency, strengthen domestic supply resilience and advance energy security objectives.

The agreement with the government is likely to be signed next month.

Successive governments had earlier promoted CNG for automobiles to cut petrol imports, but the plan could not be fully implemented due to gas shortages, resulting in losses for CNG station investors and car owners who bought expensive cylinders and kits.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2026