The Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association of Pakistan (LPGAP) while rejecting the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA)'s price fixation formula has urged the Federal Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources to take notice of the hardship caused to the LPG industry and withdraw the OGRA notification at the earliest. "OGRA has issued three letters in last 20-days regarding price fixation which do not fulfil the LPG industry's needs.
The letters are bound to hit this important sector very hard. LPG producers have been directed to fix price Rs 45276 per metric ton is nothing but to cause cash loss to the marketing companies". The demand was raised at a meeting presided over by the Chairman LPG Association of Pakistan (LPGAP) Farooq Iftikhar here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.
The industry representatives using both local and imported LPG also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the ground realities. OGRA which intends to cap the LPG consumer price at Rs 910 inclusive of all taxes and other charges will not only discourage the imports but also lead to LPG shortage and black marketing in the country, they said.
The OGRA's move will close down the LPG businesses which in turn will cause social unrest in the society, they added. The Association Chairman Farooq Iftikhar said the policy makers are talking about LNG but that will not change the ground realities as piped gas is available to only 25 percent of the population.
The LPG is a by-product of gas extraction and crude oil refining, is considered a clean and environmentally-friendly fuel, being made available as a cooking fuel. "A huge investment has been made in the LPG sector by both private and public sector companies which needs to be protected through business friendly policies" he added.
He demanded of the Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources to take notice of the situation and direct the OGRA to withdraw the notification fixing prices immediately, otherwise marketing companies would be forced to close down their businesses.