The All Pakistan Compressed Natural Gas Association (APCNGA) has finalised the modalities with Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to provide cheap and environment-friendly fuel to motorists.
“Although, the government has allowed the association to import LNG but we have the plan to get it through SNGPL for which almost all modalities have been finalised with the company,” APCNGA Chairman Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha told APP on Wednesday.
He said 1,300 CNG stations operating in Punjab had so far shown willingness to get LNG through SNGPL’s distribution system and expressed confidence that the CNG sector would achieve ‘complete revival’ after the imported gas.
The chairman was of the view that there should be an effective mechanism to pass on maximum benefits to consumers of the recently-signed deal with Qatar in which the government got succeeded to import LNG at the competitive rate.
With regard to the proposed deal between the APCNGA and the SNGPL, Paracha said: “The LNG price for CNG sector should be market-oriented to run the sector effectively on long-term basis,” he added.
The APCNGA, Paracha said, had negotiated with the SNGPL as per vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that private sector should also come up for the LNG import, and promote the trend in industrial sector for creating an atmosphere of competitiveness.
He said the CNG was an environment-friendly fuel and claimed that it was 30 per cent cheaper as compared to petrol at the existing rates, adding that the CNG was being sold at Rs 53 per litre and Rs 82 per kilogram.
Answering a question, he said the purpose behind selling the CNG in litre was to do its comparison with petrol so that consumers could feel the difference. But, he said, efforts would be made to end the prevailing CNG price disparity in provinces and bring its prices to Rs 47per litre from Rs 53 in consultation with the government.
“Efforts of the association with regard to LNG import will be in the practical form, hopefully, in the current month, and the number of LPG-based CNG outlets will increase from 911 to 1,500 instantly,” he remarked. Replying to a question, Paracha said the APCNGA had applied for the marketing licence with Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and it would be issued to the association soon.