WASIM IQBAL

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Thursday cut the prices of re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) to $1.84 per mmbut for SNGPl May and $1.806 per mmbtu for end consumers of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) over previous month.

Due to lockdown in the country and significant reduction in the international prices of Brent Oil, the prices of RLNG also witnessed a sharp decline.

Per litre price of CNG will also be reduced in the Punjab with same proportion where RLNG is used in CNG stations.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) notified the new RLNG monthly prices, which is based on 8 RLNG cargos import by the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and the Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL).

The calculation of April month was based on seven cargoes of RLNG.

The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has set new prices at $7.7105 per mmbtu for the consumers of the SNGPL and $7.7521 per mmbtu for the SSGC consumers.

In the previous month of April, $9.5834 per mmbtu was fixed for the consumers of SNGPL, and $9.5582 per mmbtu, for SSGC consumers.

In March, the RLNG price for SNGPL was $11.367 per mmbtu, and for SSGC, it was $11.3681 per mmbtu.

In absolute terms, the RLNG price has been slashed by 19.5 percent for SNGPL and 18.8 percent for the SSGC.

Economists believe the decline in imported gas prices will have a very positive impact on reducing inflationary pressure in the economy.

Since, RLNG has been a major contributor in power generation after the hydel source, with the decline in the RLNG prices, the cost of energy will also come down, which will provide relief for power consumers.