ISLAMABAD: With system losses at around 13 per cent, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Tuesday notified about 7pc reduction in the sale price of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) for two Sui gas companies — SSGCL and SNGPL — for the current month.

The regulator also recommended a 17pc increase (more than double the inflation in September) in the sale margins of oil marketing companies (OMCs) and dealers.

In summary to the government, Ogra proposed a Rs1.35 per litre increase in the sale margin of petrol and diesel for OMCs to Rs9.22, from Rs7.87 per litre. Likewise, it also proposed increasing the margin to dealers by Rs1.40 to Rs10.04 per litre from Rs8.64.

The regulator said the above 17pc increase in sale margins to both segments also included an impact of 50 paise per litre for OMCs and 25 paise per litre for dealers on account of their future expenditure on digitalisation and automation of fuel pumps over the next three years.

Ogra recommends 17pc hike in OMCs, dealers margins

Ogra suggested that the Federal Board of Revenue, the Ministry of Energy and the oil industry were jointly working on implementing digitalisation projects. OMCs would ensure the digitalisation of pumps at their dealers’ sites and submit monthly progress reports. It asked the government to give its consent for an increase in OMC margin by Rs1.35 per litre and dealer margin by Rs1.40 per litre and also advise if the increase should be at once or in a phased manner.

Meanwhile, the RLNG’s sale price for Lahore-based Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) at the transmission stage has been reduced by 6.57pc to $12.07 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for October against $12.92 in September. The sale price at the distribution stage for SNGPL was cut by 6.62pc to $12.94 per mmBtu for October from $13.86 per unit in September.

Likewise, the RLNG sale price for Karachi-based Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL) has been slashed at the transmission stage by 7.1pc to $12.47 per mmBtu against $11.76 last month. The sale price at the distribution stage for the company decreased by 7.11pc to $12.46 per mmBtu for October against $13.42 last month.

The overall reduction in absolute terms for SSGC’s transmission price amounted to $0.835 per mmBtu and $0.955 per unit at the distribution point. The decrease in RLNG price for SNGPL at transmission stood at $0.85 per mmBtu and $0.92 per unit for distribution.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2024