The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has said the Economic Coordination Committee has deregulated the pricing of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), which previously set CNG prices, will no longer have that authority.

CNG station owners in the two provinces now have the power to set prices and profit ratios arbitrarily.

The Ministry of Petroleum will make the necessary amendments to the Ogra Ordinance to implement the decision. It will retain control over the pricing of petrol and all matters pertaining to taxation.

Chairman of the Supreme Council of the All Pakistan CNG Association, Gayas Paracha, said, "The government's decision will give the dying sector a new lease on life. The Rs450 billion industry has been saved from destruction."

Following the decision, CNG will be sold by the litre in Sindh and KP, rather than by the kilogramme.

The pricing of CNG had already been deregulated in Punjab.