Govt likely to regulate RLNG price

ISLAMABAD: The government intends to regulate the RLNG price, which is totally the deregulated commodity, and the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) is going to take up the proposal of ministry of petroleum and natural resources to this effect here on Thursday (today).
The regulation of the price and inclusion of unjustified UFG (unaccounted for gas) of 10.50 percent, and other service charges in the RLNG tariff will factually cause the RLNG price to go by up to $2.5 per MMBTU.
However, the gas utilities, which are on the verge of economic collapse, will gain immensely if the regulation of LNG prices by the government is initiated. According to the summary of the ministry of petroleum and natural resources the government wants to monitor and fix the price of LNG on the pattern of monthly oil price revision that gives margins to state-owned companies.
As per the normal procedures, gas prices are determined in public hearings after seeking comments of all the stakeholders. However, in case of LNG Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) will determine and notify every month the price of re-gasified LNG to different consumers such as power plants, other bulk consumers, fertiliser producers and compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations.
Ogra will determine the re-gasified LNG price on similar terms as those set for petroleum products without conducting public hearing.The industrial sources said that the RLNG is a deregulated commodity as per the existing LNG policy and the price of the commodity can only be regulated if CCI approves the government’s proposal.