ISLAMABAD: Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Ali Pervaiz Malik has assured provision of security personnel to escort lorries of Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) to their destinations.
” Minister Petroleum has just informed that police escort would be provided to trucks coming to and from ARL starting 11 pm, so hopefully things would work out” said Adil Khattak.
Earlier, ARL has warned of an imminent shutdown of its operations due to continued traffic restrictions in Rawalpindi and Attock districts, which have severely disrupted the movement of crude oil and petroleum products over the past four days.
The refinery, which processes 100 percent indigenous crude oil sourced from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Potohar region, stated that despite repeatedly highlighting the seriousness of the situation to the Petroleum Division and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), no relief has been granted so far.
Chief Executive Officer of ARL, Adil Khattak, said the company had also approached GHQ and the civil administration; however, traffic restrictions in Rawalpindi and Attock continue unabated.
“As a result, we were compelled to shut down our main crude distillation unit last night, and a complete refinery shutdown is likely if these restrictions are not lifted immediately,” he said.
He warned that a full shutdown would severely disrupt the supply of petroleum products to the general public, armed forces, and power plants, besides affecting the availability of jet fuel for Islamabad and Peshawar airports.
In a letter addressed to the Chairman of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority on Wednesday, the CEO stated that since April 19, 2026, ARL management has been in constant contact with multiple authorities, including Headquarters 10 Corps, Station Headquarters Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi Garrison Security, District Administration Rawalpindi, and the Motorway Police.
Despite these efforts, tank lorries transporting crude oil from various oilfields remain stranded at multiple locations due to traffic restrictions imposed in connection with the Islamabad talks. Similarly, tank lorries of oil marketing companies (OMCs) arriving at ARL for product lifting have been unable to enter Rawalpindi limits and remain stuck.
With no improvement in the situation, ARL has already shut down its main crude distillation unit, while only smaller units are currently operating at reduced throughput.
In light of the worsening situation, the company has once again urged OGRA to intervene immediately and grant exemptions from the traffic restrictions to ensure uninterrupted movement of crude oil and petroleum products to and from the refinery.
The company cautioned that failure to resolve the issue promptly could make a complete shutdown unavoidable, potentially triggering supply disruptions across key sectors.
