ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has reduced the price of regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) by 20 per cent for sales at the distribution stage by the two Sui gas companies for the current month, mainly because they received two cheaper cargoes from Qatar.

The latest price notification cut the RLNG price for September by about 20pc compared with August and 47pc lower than July, when five expensive cargoes were purchased from the international spot market at short notice amid supply disruption caused by the US-Iran war.

This is expected to lower fuel costs for power generation. The average delivered price ex-ship of LNG for two cargoes in September stood at $10.06 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu), compared with $12.12 per mmBtu in August and $18.96 per mmBtu in July.

Karachi-based Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL) serves consumers in Sindh and Balochistan, and its system losses at the distribution stage stand at 12.55pc, compared with about 10.6pc last year. Meanwhile, Lahore-based SNGPL provides gas to consumers in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and its system losses at the distribution stage were also reported at almost 9pc, up from 7.47pc in October last year.

Notifies 20pc reduction for September on cheaper Qatar cargoes

According to the notification, the RLNG sale price for SNGPL at the transmission stage fell by 19.99pc to $13.99 per mmBtu in September, from $17.49 per mmBtu in August. Similarly, the SNGPL sale price dipped by 20.14pc to $15.196 per mmBtu in September against $19.02 per mmBtu in August.

Meanwhile, SSGCL’s RLNG sale price at the transmission stage fell by 21.53pc to $12.611 per mmBtu in September from $16.07 per mmBtu in August. The sale price at the distribution stage also fell by 21.57pc to $14.22 per mmBtu in September from $18.13 per mmBtu in August.

Ironically, the inherently expensive cost additions in the supply chain—all in the public sector — continue to make the end-RLNG price higher. This is evident in the RLNG distribution prices for SSGCL at $14.22 per mmBtu and $15.19 per mmBtu for SNGPL, which are almost $3.3 and $4.2 higher than the average delivered price ex-ship (DES), respectively. This is mainly because both LNG importers — PSO and Pakistan LNG Ltd (PLL) — and port authorities charge profit margins on account of retainage and margins at the rate of 3.77pc of DES price, on top of 8.97pc system losses of SNGPL and 12.55pc losses of SSGCL.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2026