60 LPG air-mix plants planned for remote regions

LAHORE: The government has decided to set up 60 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) air-mix plants in far-off areas of Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir in an effort to provide energy without hiccups to the deprived consumers.



Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi announced this while speaking at the second LPG conference on Tuesday. The conference was organised by the LPG Dealers Association.

Abbasi underscored the need for maintaining a balance between prices of locally produced and imported LPG, which would stabilise the market as well as support and boost the LPG industry.

Recently, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) - the industry regulator - set the LPG price ceiling at Rs910 per cylinder of 11.8 kg, which the LPG marketing companies rejected. They argued that the price ceiling did not cover the entire cost and there was no room for profit margins as well.

The Ministry of Petroleum had proposed that the price could be capped at Rs1,100 per cylinder.

“Margins should be reasonable for the benefit of all,” Abbasi said at the conference, while pointing out that the planned LPG air-mix plants would provide energy for the far-flung regions where gas transmission lines were not present. “One LPG plant will be set up in each zone of these areas,” he said.

With the rise in imports, the growth in LPG industry had been evident over the past few years and LPG quotas had also been awarded for the first time, the minister said. He sought suggestions for bringing improvement in the LPG industry.



Abbasi called on the industry to improve quality standards in order to ensure safety of LPG consumers. He urged them to cooperate with the government for addressing the challenges.

The minister ruled out any role of the Ministry of Petroleum in determining the LPG prices, clarifying that Ogra regulated the gas prices.

He declared that gas supply in the country had improved and its load-shedding was gradually coming down as the industry was receiving supplies without interruption.

Pakistan was earlier importing one million tons of fertiliser every year, but the situation totally reversed with the supply of gas to the manufacturing plants, he pointed out. Now, the commodity is being exported to overseas markets.

“The country would have faced no problems had past governments taken initiatives to bridge the gulf between gas supply and demand,” he remarked.

Abbasi claimed that Pakistan consumers were receiving petrol at the lowest price in the world.

Speaking on the occasion, LPG Dealers Association Chairman Irfan Khokhar said the LPG industry was running well, but price intervention by Ogra dealt a serious blow.



He claimed that the LPG industry had suffered a loss of Rs30 million so far following market intervention by the regulator, which would also hurt future investments.

“Imports have come to a halt and consumers may face gas shortage in coming months, which will spark another crisis,” he warned.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2017.

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