State extends high sulphur fuel import waiver by six months

Petroleum sector allowed to import fuel with significantly high sulphur content to safeguard against shortages. [File, Standard]

The government has extended a waiver that allows the petroleum sector to import fuel with significantly high sulphur content. This move, the government said, is aimed at securing the supply of petroleum products.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry on Wednesday extended the waiver by six months, having initially effected in late March 2026. At the time, the oil industry was said to be struggling to replenish a fast depleting fuel stocks amidst shortages in the global market, following the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the passage where more than 20 per cent of global oil transits.