Around 769,589 tons LPG being consumed annually in country

ISLAMABAD: Consumers across the country are using around 769,589 tons of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to meet their domestic, commercial and industrial needs on the annual basis.

During the last fiscal year, the domestic sector consumed 322,779 tons of LPG, commercial and industrial consumers utilized 348,518 and 98,292 tons respectively, according to an official document available with APP.

The all three-category consumers used 16,021 tons LPG in Islamabad, 459,026 tons in Punjab, 81,286 in Sindh, 72,997 tons in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 22,564 tons in Balochistan, 43,468 tons in Northern Areas, 26,087 in erstwhile Federal Administered Tribal Areas and 48,142 tons in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The government has set the target of producing 753,051 tons LPG through indigenous means and importing 317,263 tons during the current fiscal year. Around 76 per cent of the LPG consumed is met through local production, whereas the rest is imported.

The LPG sector has attracted approximately Rs3.72 billion investment in supply and distribution infrastructure during the first nine months (July-March) of the last fiscal year, which showed investors’ confidence in business-friendly policies introduced by the government.

During the period, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has issued around 63 licences of different nature for promotion of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry in the country, including one operational licence of LPG storage terminal, three for setting up LPG air-mix plants, 35 for construction of LPG storage & filling plants and 18 for operation of LPG storage & filling plants.

Besides, it granted three licences for the construction of LPG auto refuelling stations and three operational permits for LPG auto refuelling stations. Currently, as many as 11 LPG producers and 200 LPG marketing companies are operating in the country, with more than 7,000 authorized LPG distributors.