Regulator calls CNG sale in litres illegal

Insists only CNG based on imported gas can be sold in litres

KARACHI: Reacting to the decision of compressed natural gas (CNG) station owners to sell gas in litres instead of kilogrammes in Sindh, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has declared that the sale of locally produced natural gas-based CNG in litres is illegal.

In a statement, an Ogra spokesman insisted that only the price of imported gas-based CNG stood deregulated and filling stations in Sindh were not consuming the imported liquefied natural gas. “Therefore, the CNG outlets that are using local gas cannot sell it in litres,” he said.



The regulator communicated to the All Pakistan CNG Association that the maximum sale price of CNG it notified on August 31, 2015 was Rs75.82 per kg for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and the Potohar region (Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Gujar Khan). For Sindh and Punjab, the maximum price was Rs67.50 per kg.

“These prices are legally prevalent for all locally produced gas-based CNG stations. Prices charged by filling stations other than the notified rates will be deemed illegal and action will be taken against the violators according to the law,” it said.



The regulator stressed that the price notification had been issued according to the relevant law and in line with decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet. “Therefore, all CNG stations are legally obliged to sell (local gas-based) CNG in kilogrammes and not in litres.”

In this regard, Ogra suggested to the association of CNG station owners to come up with proposals for its consideration in accordance with the policy of the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 10^th, 2016.

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