Over the last week, Pakistan has seen a spate of oil tanker accidents. One of them occurred at Ahmedpur Sharqia resulting in the death of more than 200 people, just before the country was readying to celebrate Eid. In the following days, local authorities acted swiftly to cordon off ill-fated oil tankers to prevent another disaster from happening. But one has to ask, what have we learnt from the terrible incident at Ahmedpur Sharqia? In this magnanimous tragedy, government officials blamed poverty and illiteracy for the crowd's behaviour, claiming that a lack of basic education coupled with acute poverty in the community, drove them to run to the crash site with buckets and other utensils. Motorway police spokesman Imran Shah said that a government inquiry into the incident found at least five police officials guilty of hiding information, relating to their inability to control mobs at the scene.

However, as government investigators continue to investigate the cause of the accident, and whether regulatory agencies failed to enforce regulations - a more basic question is why this hazardous cargo was being transported in trucks by road rather than in a pipeline as is done in many countries.

Before answering this, it is important to put into perspective how much fuel is transported by oil tankers in Pakistan. By some estimates there are over 10,000 oil tankers delivering fuel to all corners of the country collectively. These oil tankers pass through main city centres until they move on the highway side by side with normal traffic and no distinction in terms of separate lanes. Although the country is blessed with a sizeable network of gas pipelines connecting gas fields to urban centres, the same is not the case for oil pipelines transporting imported fuel oil from terminals in Karachi to cities up North.

One of the few major pipelines in Pakistan - owned by the Pak Arab Pipeline Company Limited (PAPCO) along with Shell(the largest Oil Marketing Company shareholder), Total and PSO - has taken thousands of oil tankers off the roads. The Pipeline starts at Karachi and goes up to Machhike near Lahore, covering more than 2,000 kilometres. Also known as the White Oil Pipeline, it carries almost 60% of the total Petroleum consumption in the country. Diesel fuel transport through this Pipeline has also reduced the Inland Freight Equalization Margin (IFEM) which is a tax on fuel consumers by approximately $100 Million per annum. A project to increase the Pipeline's capacity to accommodate multi-grade fuels though planned, has been on hold for the last four years.

The other significant pipeline is the Pak-Arab Refining Company (PARCO) commissioned 362 km Mahmoodkot-Faisalabad-Machhike (MFM) Pipeline used to transport diesel and kerosene to Faisalabad and Machike. This Pipeline has a capacity of approximately 3.7 million tons per year, and a multi-grade conversion of the same pipeline is due by 2018, which will allow it to transport more fuel types including motor gasoline.

Apart from local moves to enhance Pakistan's current pipeline infrastructure, international support also exists for the same. In March 2017, Kuwait agreed to invest millions of dollars in a white oil pipeline to transport petroleum products from Karachi to major consumers in Punjab. There were also reports in June of 2016 that China was planning a Gwadar to Kashgar pipeline that would carry one million barrels per day of Middle Eastern oil to China, a key element of the $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Pipeline routes tend to fall outside major urban centres and road transport thoroughfares, reducing the number of heavy transport vehicles on the roads and thereby minimising the risk of accidents, fuel spillage and leaks, and harm to people and the environment. They are usually underground so there is a reduced risk of theft, which industry sources claim results in$200 million worth of oil stolen every year in Pakistan.

By some estimates, the current annual demand for petroleum products in Pakistan is near 23 million tons and is expected to grow to 27 million tons by 2020. Meeting this demand without the necessary pipeline infrastructure in place will necessitate an increased use of oil tankers, and simultaneous increase of the risks associated with transporting fuel across our cities and communities.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017