LAHORE: Despite a crash in the global prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), local producers have kept their prices unchanged for the last one month.

The Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL), Pak-Arab Refinery Company (PARCO), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd (SSGCL), which account for more than 75 per cent of Pakistan’s LPG production, have refused to lower their prices in line with the fall in Saudi Aramco Contract Price (CP)— a leading international benchmark for LPG.

The Saudi Aramco CP for July has fallen to a record low of $413 per tonne (Rs41,300 exclusive of taxes). However, the local producers have maintained their prices at Rs52,000 per tonne, whereas the SSGCL has maintained it at Rs50,000 per tonne.

“The LPG consumer is suffering and has to pay higher prices due to the monopolistic position of the state-owned LPG producers,” said Farooq Iftikhar, Chairman LPG Association of Pakistan, in a press statement on Monday.

The Ministry of Petroleum had earlier initiated a policy to regulate the LPG sector and bring its prices below the international level to provide relief to consumers. That policy has been side-tracked as LPG producers continue to charge prices well in excess of international prices.

“We fail to understand why the LPG producers have been given a free hand by the government to fleece consumers when this is not the case with other petroleum products,” he said.

Iftikhar said LPG consumers were paying at least Rs150 more for each cylinder.—Staff Reporter

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play