Petroleum Standards – Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan v. Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and others

PILAP has filed a Writ Petition against the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the Oil Companies Advisory Council; the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan; the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) and the Punjab Environment Protection Agency against the use of a lower standard for petroleum products. A lower petroleum standard is detrimental to human health as well as the environment which is why the rest of the world has moved towards adopting the cleanest petroleum standard, i.e. Euro 6. On the other hand, Pakistani oil companies are still using Euro 2 standard, a much lower standard, which is extremely harmful to human health and the environment.  Nitrogen Oxide gases emitted by vehicles using petroleum belonging to the lower standard react to form smog and acid rain which destroy the environment and agriculture, which forms the bedrock of Pakistan’s economy. Furthermore, they also pollute the ground- water supply.

PILAP’s Writ Petition before the Lahore High Court challenges the use of a lower petroleum standard and prays for a direction to the Government to enact a system of phased introduction of Euro 6 petroleum standards. As a result, the Government has announced the introduction of Euro-5 petroleum products.