ISLAMABAD: Despite a fall in system losses, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Monday notified over 5 per cent increase in the price of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) at the transmission stage sale by the two Sui gas companies for the ongoing month.

Karachi-based Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) serves consumers in Sindh and Balochistan, and its system losses at the distribution stage dropped from 16.16pc to 10.6pc.

On the other hand, Lahore-based SNGPL provides gas to consumers in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and its system losses at the distribution stage dropped to 7.47pc from 8.6pc until last month.

According to the notification, the RLNG’s sale price for SNGPL at the transmission stage has been increased by 4.9pc to $12.59 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) for April against $12 per mmBtu. The sale price at the distribution stage for SNGPL was jacked up by 4.08pc to $13.48 per mmBtu for the current month against $12.95 per mmBtu in March.

Conversely, the RLNG sale price for SSGCL has been increased at the transmission stage by 5.44pc to $11.27 per mmBtu for April against $10.69 last month. The sale price at the distribution stage for the company was slightly reduced by 1pc to $12.59 per mmBtu for the current month against $12.726 last month.

Ogra said the hike was due to an increase in RLNG delivered price on ship. However, the distribution price of the product for SSGCL was reduced due to the reduction in its losses at the distribution stage.

The overall increase in absolute terms for SSGC’s transmission price amounted to $0.5812 per mmBtu, while the reduction at the distribution stage was $0.1345 per unit. The increase in RLNG price for SNGPL at transmission was reported at $0.59 per mmBtu and $0.53 per unit for distribution.

Ironically, the RLNG distribution prices for SSGCL and SNGPL are $12.59 and $13.48 per mmBtu, almost $3.19 and $4.08 per mmBtu higher than the Pakistan State Oil’s $9.4 average delivered price ex-ship (DES). This is mainly because both the LNG importers — PSO and Pakistan LNG Ltd (PLL) — and port authorities also charge profit margins on account of retainage and margins at the rate of 3.15pc and 3.1pc of DES price, respectively, on top of 7.4pc losses of SNGPL and 10.6pc losses of SSGCL.

The basket RLNG price was based on a total of eight cargos for April, all under two LNG contracts between PSO and Qatar Gas at an average of about $9.4 per mmBtu — six cargoes at 10.01 and two cargos at $7.6 per mmBtu. PLL did not import any cargo this month as it deferred cargoes for the current month owing to a demand crash.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2025