Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) marketing companies and some distributors have raised the commodity price from Rs 140 per kg to Rs 180 per kg within a month without any approval of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), market sources revealed. According to LPG Distributor Association Chairman Irfan Khokhar, following the unjustified increase in the LPG prices by dealers and marketing companies, Ogra has finally issued show cause notices to 21 marketing companies involved in black marketing and illegal profiteering.
He said after the Ogra's show cause notices, LPG price may reduce by at least Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg. He said "we are grateful to Ogra for matchless action to leash the LPG mafia." Khokhar said Ogra should cancel license of all those marketing and distribution companies that are involved in profiteering and black marketing.
Khokhar said in September public sector gas producer Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Pak Arab Refinery Company (Parco) increased gas prices due to temporary closure of the country's major gas producer JJVL owing to annual maintenance of gas fields, but this increase was just Rs 10 per kg, while the marketing companies jacked up the prices by Rs 40 per kg.
While lodging protest against constant increase in gas prices with every passing day, Khokhar lamented that general public is forced to purchase gas at exorbitant rate, adding that mechanism being used to determine the gas price is useless. He said if the unjust hike in LPG prices is not taken back by the marketing companies, LPG distributors will stop supplying gas, because it is cruelty to sell domestic gas on international rate.
He appealed to the government to take notice of recent increase in gas price and chalk out a workable mechanism to determine prices. At present LPG is selling on following rates: In Karachi, Rahimyar Khan, Sukkur and Hyderabad per kg gas at Rs 140 per kg, while domestic gas cylinder of 15-kg was available at Rs 2,000. In Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Attock, Jhelum and Azad Kashmir domestic gas cylinder prices have reached Rs 2,400 and Rs 180 per kg.