Pakistan has cut the diesel crack spread, the margin refineries earn for turning crude oil into diesel, to $38 a barrel from $41.89. A pricing sheet on the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) website shows the change, Topline Research said on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
The old rate was set in August for two months and was due to expire on October 20. The new rate is $3.89 a barrel lower, a cut of about 9.3%. Topline Research said it confirmed the figure with one refinery, and that refineries and companies have reportedly agreed to the new formula for 60 to 90 days. It added that further clarification is awaited and that it will seek confirmation from the other refineries and OGRA.
The cut could be worth about Rs. 6.8 a litre
A barrel holds about 159 litres. At OGRA’s early-October exchange rate, every $1 a barrel works out to about Rs. 1.74 a litre, according to Pakera’s reading of the OGRA sheets. That puts the $3.89 cut at roughly Rs. 6.8 a litre before taxes. This is our estimate, not an official figure, and it is not yet clear how much of it will reach the pump.
Diesel is already cheaper from October 20. The Petroleum Division cut the price by Rs. 7.69 to Rs. 389.27 a litre, down from Rs. 396.96, according to a press release carried by APP. The division credited changes in international Platts rates, premiums and incidental charges for the cut. It did not mention the crack spread. Taxes and duties on diesel still come to about Rs. 100 a litre, Bloom Pakistan reported.
Pakistan Observer reported that OGRA can now announce daily ex-depot prices without prior government approval. Any change in the margin could therefore show up in prices quickly. Fuel prices were previously revised every two weeks and then weekly during the Middle East conflict.
The cap began in August after the Prime Minister’s request
On August 19, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said refineries had agreed to cut diesel prices by about Rs. 30 to 32 a litre. He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had asked them for relief and that OGRA would announce the final calculation, Radio Pakistan reported.
According to Pakera’s reading of the OGRA sheets, OGRA has priced diesel since August 20 from Dubai crude plus a fixed $41.89 crack. Diesel was Rs. 363.06 a litre on August 20 and peaked at Rs. 424.92 on September 18. At Rs. 389.27, it is now about Rs. 35 below that peak but still about Rs. 26 above the price on the first day of the cap. Crude oil prices also feed into the formula, so the margin is only one part of what drivers pay.
