Ogra again notifies increase in LNG price
ISLAMABAD:
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has announced the provisional LNG price for the month of August.
Previously, it had withdrawn the notification of LNG price in response to criticism for Pakistan State Oil’s (PSO’s) more expensive purchase of imported fuel at $20 per MMBtu.
PSO stated in a Friday tweet that it opened a retender for the purchase of LNG for the delivery period of August 29-30, 2021 after canceling the previous offer on July 27, 2021, owing to high rates.
The winning bid was $15.9271 per MMBtu, which is quite competitive with current market rates. The PSO also claims to have saved the government Rs 2.1 billion.
For the month of August, the government has raised the price of LNG by 2.33 percent for Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Company Limited (SNGPL) customers and 2.5 percent for Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC).
According to a notification, the regulator raised the provisional price of LNG for both gas firms’ customers, increasing rates for SNGPL customers by $0.3015 per MMBtu or 2.33 percent, and rates for SSGC customers by $0.3163 per MMBtu or 2.5 percent.
Following the hike, the price of LNG for SNGPL clients increased from $12.9160 per MMBtu in July to 13.2175 per MMBtu in August.
The price of LNG for SSGCL customers has also risen from the prior month of July. In August, the price of RLNG rose from $12.6386 per MMBtu in July to $12.9549 per MMBtu.
The government imported 12 cargos of LNG, six from Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and six from Pakistan LNG Ltd on a spot basis (PLL).
In July, the regulator raised the price of LNG for both gas firms’ customers, raising rates by $2.5834 per MMBtu for SNGPL customers and $2.5899 per MMBtu for SSGC customers.
Earlier, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) withdrew the notification of increasing LNG prices after Pakistan State Oil (PSO) informed that it had scrapped the highest LNG bid of over $20 per mmbtu.
Prior to it, Ogra had allowed gas utilities to increase the price of LNG up to 5.59 percent for the month of August 2021.
The controversy erupted on social media that PSO had accepted the highest bid of LNG at $20 per MMBtu.
At present, there are two LNG procurement entities-Pakistan LNG Limited and Pakistan State Oil.
The regulator allowed an increase in LNG price due to expensive deals by Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL).
PLL has secured the most expensive deals at over $15 per MMBtu by shelving cheaper deals. This has been a major reason for the increasing prices of LNG for customers of SNGPL and SSGC.
The regulator has allowed an increase in tariff for the consumers of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Company Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) for the month of August.
Read More: SSGC booked Rs 30b for the LNG swap
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), increased the provisional price of RLNG for the consumers of both gas companies and jacked up the rates for the consumers of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) by $0.692 per MMBtu or 5.36 percent while for the consumers of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) it has been increased by $0.707 per MMBtu or 5.59 percent, said a notification issued by Ogra.
After the increase, the price of RLNG went up from $12.9160 per mmbtu in July to $13.6080 in August for the consumers of the SNGPL.
The price of RLNG for the consumers of the SSGCL was also increased as compared with the previous month of July. The price of RLNG increased from $ 12.6386 in July to $13.3454 per mmbtu in August.
The government will import 12 cargos of LNG in August, six through the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and six through spot purchase by Pakistan LNG Ltd (PLL).
It is worth mentioning here that for July also the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had increased the price of RLNG for the consumers of both gas companies.
It increased the rates for the consumers of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) by $2.5834 per mmbtu or 25 percent while for the consumers of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) it has been increased by $2.5899 per mmbtu or 25.76 percent
