The government has decided to review prices of Petroleum, Lubricant and Oil on monthly basis, instead of revising them every week, Chairman of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Saeed Ahmad Khan said on Tuesday.
Talking to reporters after conducting a Public Hearing on the fixation of CNG prices in accordance with the Supreme Court''s decision of October 25, he said that on the basis of public hearing, the Authority would submit a new formula on the fixation of CNG prices and if the apex court agreed with the formula, the commodity''s price would be determined in future accordingly.
He said that if the court rejected Ogra''s submissions, the current price of the commodity would remain intact till December 31 this year. During the hearing, Chairman of the Supreme Council of All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha informed the authority that the SC had directed Ogra to bring CNG prices back at July 1, 2012 level, while delinking its price with petrol and suspending an MoU signed between APCNGA and the Petroleum Ministry regarding the operational cost.
Paracha said that when CNG was introduced in Pakistan, the government recognised it as an industry, directing the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to issue electricity bill to CNG sector as an industrial sector. Ogra was also informed by representatives of APCNGA that when the SC asked the petroleum secretary about the utilisation of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC), the secretary told the court that it was being charged to subsidise gas for fertiliser sector.
"About 100 million people are directly or indirectly using CNG in Pakistan, as over 90 percent of public transporters are using CNG, instead of diesel. After the SC decision, a few government departments tried to hijack the court decision by creating confusion among the masses," Paracha maintained. He said that after the court decision, he along with other APCNGA members requested the CNG station operators to facilitate consumers in accordance with Ogra notification.
"The CNG production cost is Rs 20.8 per kg, which consists of eight components - electricity cost of Rs 10 per kg, Rs 0.59 depreciation cost of machinery, Rs 0.8 on lubricants, Rs 0.59 on services provision, labour cost Rs 3.3 along with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are charging Rs 3.3 per kg for using their brand name if CNG facility and petrol pump are operating together," Paracha said. The authority was informed that various government departments were collecting different annual fees from this sector.