CNG prices deregulated

ABDUL RASHEED AZAD

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Tuesday approved the deregulation of prices of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), following which the station owners will be free to set their own prices. The ministry has already issued a notice to CNG owners stating that prices are no longer regulated by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), and the CNG station owners are free to decide and set their own prices.

The Ministry of Petroleum will make necessary amendments to the OGRA Ordinance to implement this decision. It will retain control over the pricing of petrol and all matters pertaining to taxation. A notification was issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources in this regard. Following the decision, CNG will be sold in litres in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, rather than in kilogrammes. The pricing of CNG had already been deregulated in Punjab.

Chairman of the Supreme Council of All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA), Ghiyas Paracha said, "The government decision will give the dying sector a new lease on life. He said it will help Rs 450 billion industry survive, which during the past six years faced serious gas loadshedding which resulted in closure of hundreds of CNG stations, especially in Punjab.

Now, after the deregulation of CNG prices, APCNGA will fix the fuel prices for the end consumers as per market situation and will have no connection with the government or OGRA. Paracha maintained that station owners at present are selling the commodity at loss. This is probably due to the use of LNG, instead of natural gas. According to the chairman, the price increase will be minimal so that CNG rates still remain below that of petrol prices in the country.