IHC questions 7-year moratorium on OMCs

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has sought a comprehensive report from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on the continued operation of a moratorium on the establishment of new oil marketing companies (OMCs), which was imposed in 2019 as an interim measure but has allegedly remained in force for nearly seven years.

Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir issued notices to the respondents while hearing a petition filed by Fuelex Petroleum Pvt Ltd, challenging Ogra’s refusal to entertain its application for an OMC licence.

The petitioner has challenged an April 14, 2026 letter issued by Ogra, through which its application for an OMC licence was declined on the ground that the federal government had imposed a moratorium on the establishment of new OMCs.

The company contended that Ogra should have examined its application under the criteria prescribed under the Pakistan Oil Rules, 2016, rather than rejecting it solely on the basis of the moratorium.

The petition also challenges a Jan 9, 2019 direction under which Ogra was asked not to accept fresh applications from local investors until revised criteria for the establishment of OMCs were approved.

According to the petitioner, the 2019 direction envisaged the moratorium as a temporary arrangement pending approval of revised criteria by the cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee.

It was further pointed out that the direction allowed applications from foreign investors during the........

© Dawn Business