OGRA (Amendment) Bill, 2026: Bill proposes quarterly gas pricing moved in Senate

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has moved a key bill in the Upper House of the Parliament that aims to allow gas tariff adjustment by implementing quarterly reviews, with a 30-day timeline for federal government advice, to “curb accumulation of circular debt for natural gas sector, ensuring financial and operational stability of entire gas supply chain.”

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was moved on the last day of the 364th Senate session on Friday, chaired by Presiding Officer Shahadat Awan, in the absence of Chairman Senate Yousaf Raza Gilani and Deputy Chairman Senate Syedaal Khan.

State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry introduced the bill in the House.

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Referred to the Senate Standing on Cabinet Secretariat after being introduced, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026 aims to amend the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002 for the gas tariff adjustment.

The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill reads that the primary objective of the proposed amendments to the OGRA Ordinance, 2002 is to establish a quarterly gas pricing mechanism with the intent to adjust price fluctuation of natural gas including the Re-Gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) along with rupee dollar parity in a timely manner, thereby aligning tariffs with market realities.

“The tariff adjustment by implementing quarterly reviews, with a 30-day timeline for federal government advice, shall signal accurate pricing and sufficient gas price revision by federal government help to curb accumulation of circular debt for natural gas sector, ensuring financial and operational stability of entire gas supply chain,” according to the bill’s Statement of Objects and Reasons.

Apart from that, the House passed two government bills; the Pakistan Study Centres (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, 2026. Both bills were presented by the state interior minister.

Already passed by the National Assembly, both the bills seek to ensure 33 percent women representation in the Pakistan Study Centres, and the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE), which operate under the ambit of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, in accordance with the prime minister’s directives notified by the Cabinet Division to ensure 33 women representation “in all federal boards, statutory bodies, public sector organisations and allied committees under federal government.”

Earlier, in the question hour, the Senate was caught in an unusual situation when treasury Senator Nasir Mahmood, commonly known as Nasir Butt, from Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), slammed his own political party-led federal government for what he described as “mega foul play” in the Pakistan Railways.

“The railway tracks are broken, accidents take place on a daily basis,” he said, adding that a significant part of the Railways land was lost to land grabbing.

Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi responded that “zero tolerance policy” against land grabbing is being followed in the Pakistan Railways.

The Railways personnel have been tasked to identify the grabbed lands and retrieve them, he said.

To a calling attention notice moved by Mohsin Aziz from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding “deteriorating condition of the newly constructed Hazara Motorway,” Chaudhry, the state interior minister, responded that the federal government has allocated 900 million rupees for the repair of the Hazara Motorway.

The Senate stands prorogued.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026