ISLAMABAD - The government has slashed the prices of Re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) by upto 4.3 percent for the consumers of both the Sui companies for February 2023. As per the determined RLNG weighted average sale provisional price notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the price of RLNG for the consumers of Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) consumers has been reduced by 4.3 percent or $0.614/MMBtu, while for the consumers of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), it has been reduced by 3.9 percent or $0.5635/MMBtu over the previous month of January 2023. As per the notification, the regulator set RLNG prices at $13.7046/MMBtu for the consumers of SNGPL and $13.952/ MMBtu for SSGC. It is worth to mention here that LNG is pegged to the crude price and its price also fluctuates with the crude prices in international market. As per the notification, the prices of RLNG also include charges of the LNG terminals, transmission losses, port charges, and margins of the state-run importers Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL). These new weighted average sale prices of RLNG have been computed based on eight cargoes imported by PSO, while PLL did not import the super-chilled gas. Under two long-term contracts with Qatar, PSO is procuring LNG at 13.37 percent of Brent and 10.20 percent of Brent, respectively.
Virgin Atlantic suspends services to Pakistan
Five cargoes were procured at a slope of 13.37 percent of Brent, while three at 10.2 percent. The government has significantly reduced the spot purchases of LNG from the global market. The newly announced prices were lower for SNGPL and higher for SSGC when compared with the prices in the same month of last year. Last year in February 2022, the RLNG price was $13.3769/MMBtu for SNGPL and $14.0783/MMBtu for SSGC consumers. RLNG is the second major contributor to the Pakistan’s power generation after hydroelectric sources. Its price variation also strongly affects the cost of generation, which is subsequently translated into the power tariff for consumers.