LAHORE, March 13: The ban on new CNG stations is a temporary one and should soon be lifted, said Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Senior Executive Director Javed Nazir here on Thursday.

Addressing the “Fuelling Pakistan Conference,” organised by the Dawn Group of Newspapers, he said that any government could hardly afford banning an industry that has an investment of Rs90 billion of which Rs20 billion are in the pipeline.

“Ogra has already sent its recommendations and sought some clarifications from the government on the ban issue,” he informed the participants and added that the CNG industry had shown a 60 per cent growth in the last five years.

The interim government has slapped a ban on new CNG stations from February 6, 2008.

Mr Nazir said that Ogra was sensitive to the investors’ concerns and it had forwarded the recommendations to the ministry of petroleum, which has sent the same to the prime minister’s office.

The new CNG policy was now a matter of weeks and all stakeholders would be consulted before finalising the draft, he said.

Earlier, Chairman of Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association Abdul Sami Khan said that an interim government should not have taken a policy decision that might have a far-reaching impact on the industry and should have left it for the incoming government.

He said that Ogra kept investors confused as it had fixed 1,100-yard plot for new CNG station whereas in cities only 1,000-yard plots were available.

The investors had convinced the Ogra chairman about the problem, but no notification had so far been issued, he added.

CNG Stations Owners Association chairman Malik Khuda Baksh was of the view that compressed natural gas was 50 per cent cheaper that was why over 1.7 million vehicles had been converted to

CNG at a cost of Rs45 billion making the country the largest consumer of natural gas in the world.

But, the recent supply crisis in Punjab and NWFP has shattered the confidence of investors.

“The government instead of taking corrective measures has stopped issuing licences for new stations, which totally uncalled for.

The ever-increasing petroleum prices have underscored the importance of CNG as alternative fuel.

The government should continue patronising the CNG industry as it has been doing in the past,” he added.

Muazzam Hussain of Ogra maintained that the government had not been supporting the CNG industry at the cost of LPG industry. He dispelled the impression saying that both industries have separate clientele. “The LPG is sold where CNG infrastructure is not available”.

His assertion was contested by other participants who claimed that LPG was being sold in the cities illegally and being done with total impunity. Both selling points and prices were beyond any administrative and regulatory control.

Javed Nazir also informed the audience that 8,000 CNG buses were being imported and the government would arrange gas for them.