Latest news with #Ogra
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
HSD price up by Rs10.39, petrol's by Rs8.36
ISLAMABAD: The federal government Monday announced a massive increase in the prices of petroleum products with effect from July 1, 2025. The price of petrol has gone up by Rs 8.36 per litre, whereas, High Speed Diesel (HSD) price has also increased by Rs 10.39 per litre. The price of petrol has gone up from Rs 266.79 per litre from Rs 258.43 per litre and HSD's jumped from Rs 262.59 to Rs 272.98 per litre for the fortnight starting July 1, according to the Finance Division's statement. The Finance Division said the decision to increase the prices of petroleum products have been taken in line with the recommendations of Ogra and the relevant ministries. Sources said that the government adjusted the petroleum levy (PL) on petroleum products to levy carbon tax with a rate of Rs 2.50 per litre. The PL on petrol has reduced from Rs 78.02 per litre to Rs 75.52 per litre and HSD also witnessed a reduction in Pl from Rs 77 to Rs 74.51 per litre, sources said. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
LPG prices decrease Rs7.51 per kg
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) on Monday notified Rs7.51 per kg decrease in LPG consumer prices with effect from July 1, 2025. The price of LPG domestic 11.8kg cylinder has declined from Rs2,838.31 in June to Rs2,750.60 for July. The producer price also came down by Rs87.71 from Rs2,350.97 to Rs2,263.26 for July. According to OGRA, the LPG producer price is linked with Saudi Aramco-CP and US dollar exchange rate. As compared to the previous month, Saudi Aramco-CP has decreased by 4.29 percent. The average dollar exchange rate has slightly increased by 0.47 percent resulting to decrease in LPG consumer price by Rs88.71/11.8kg cylinder (3.1 per cent). The per kg decrease in LPG consumer price is Rs7.51. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Fuel price hike burns a hole in public pockets
The federal government on Monday night made a massive increase in the prices of petroleum products for the next fortnight, seen as an impact of the 12-day Iran-Israel war that nearly threatened to engulf the entire Middle East region. According to a notification issued by the Finance Division, the price of petrol was jacked up by Rs8.36 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs10.39 per litre for the period of July 1 to 15. The prices were raised on the recommendation of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). "The Government has decided to revise the prices of petroleum products for the fortnight starting today, based on the recommendations of OGRA & the relevant ministries," the Finance Division notification stated. The notification said that petrol will now be available at Rs266.79 per litre – Rs8.36 per litre up from Rs258.43 per litre. Similarly, the HSD rate is jacked up to Rs272.98 per litre from Rs262.59 per litre, registering a hike of Rs10.39 per litre. Pakistan is a net importer of oil and imports around 85% of its total requirement of petroleum products, mainly from the Middle East. The local oil and gas companies produce crude oil to meet 15% of the total oil needs. Last month, Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites resulted in a sharp increase in prices of crude oil that jumped 711% to around $8287 per barrel, which was the highest level in six months, according to reports. This increase came after Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. However, the ceasefire between Iran and Israel resulted in bringing the price of crude oil back to $67 per barrel during the June 2326 period, roughly reverting to pre-war levels by June 26. In Pakistan, the HSD is widely used in the agriculture and transport sectors. Therefore, the fresh increase in its price will bring an inflationary impact on the consumers. Because of its use in the transport sector, the cost of goods transportation will go up, resulting in higher inflation across the country. Petrol, on the other hand, is used in motorbikes and cars and is considered to be an alternative to compressed natural gas (CNG). Gas utilities had stopped supplying indigenous gas to the CNG stations, especially in Punjab; therefore, the CNG outlets had been using imported gas for over a decade. The recent increase in prices of petrol would also minimise the difference in the price of CNG and petrol. The prices take effect on the first day of the new fiscal year 2025-26. The government has a space to absorb the increase in the prices of petroleum products by adjusting the petroleum levy. At present, consumers are paying over Rs77 per litre petroleum levy on diesel and petrol. However, the government had adopted the way of increasing the prices of petroleum products rather than rescuing the consumers from this increase. The consumers were expected to face more increases in oil prices as the government had set a Rs1.4 trillion revenue target on account of petroleum levy, the highest in the country's history. The petroleum levy revised target was Rs1,161?billion for FY?202425. Additionally, the government had also imposed a carbon levy on petroleum products that would result in further increases in the prices of petroleum products.
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
ECC flags poor governance in gas utilities
The country's economic managers have voiced concerns over the performance of boards of directors of gas utilities and have called for improving governance to ensure effective management. Successive governments have appointed boards of directors on political grounds, rather than bringing in qualified experts to suggest measures for improvement in governance. Due to such appointments, the utilities have faced governance issues. Gas companies are incurring high losses, which are eating up billions of rupees. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has permitted higher system losses to be passed on to gas consumers, while persistent leakages and theft have sparked concerns among the economic managers. These issues were taken up in a recent meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), held to consider proposed hikes in gas prices across various consumer categories. During the meeting, ECC Chairman and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb raised the issue of governance in boards of Sui gas companies. He said that the directors serving on boards should play their role in bringing about improvement in the utilities. The petroleum minister briefed the economic decision-making body that Pakistan had committed to reducing circular debt under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. He stated that an increase in gas tariffs was necessary to reduce the quantum of debt. He apprised the ECC that for domestic consumers, only fixed charges had been proposed to be increased, while gas tariff would remain the same. The higher fixed charges, it was observed, would not affect the consumption behaviour of users. The forum was informed that the first portion of recovery would be made immediately, so that a sound financial footing could be ensured. For List C, a subsidy should be considered. The Petroleum Division sought permission to submit a revised summary on gas prices, prepared in light of recommendations of a committee constituted by the Prime Minister's Office. Based on the recommendations of the committee, the division submitted the following proposals for consideration of the ECC. It recommended the approval of tariff revisions proposed for domestic slabs and other categories. Also, Ogra should be advised to consider revenue surplus, if available, for meeting prior year shortfalls/circular debt at the time of finalising the estimated revenue requirements. The Petroleum Division recommended that Ogra should be advised to allow companies to carry forward the revenue deficits arising at the time of final revenue requirements in the next revenue determination, as per provisions of the Natural Gas Tariff Regime 2018. It asked the committee to direct Ogra and the Cabinet Division to make amendments in the Ogra Ordinance 2002 for quarterly tariff adjustments to ensure timely recoveries before the next biannual determination in December 2025. It requested the ECC to approve the proposals. The ECC considered the summary titled "Natural Gas Sale Pricing FY 2025-26 (Effective July 1, 2025)" and approved the proposals.
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Domestic consumers: Ogra notifies hike in fixed gas prices
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) announced revised gas prices for the fiscal year 2025-26, notifying a 50% increase in fixed gas charges for domestic consumers, effective from first July. According to notification, 'The federal government, in response to Ogra's determinations of SNGPL (Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited) and SSGCL (Sui Southern Gas Company Limited] of estimated revenue requirement for FY 2025-26, has advised revised category-wise natural gas sales effective July 01, 2025.' The notification stated that the federal government increased the fixed charges for protected category from Rs400 to Rs600, while those in the non-protected category will now pay Rs1,500, up from Rs1,000. For non-protected consumers whose gas consumption exceeds 1.5 cubic hectometres (hm³), fixed charges have been raised from Rs2,000 to Rs3,000, it stated. Despite the hike in fixed charges, the actual gas tariffs remain unchanged, the notification clarified. The sale prices for both protected and non-protected domestic consumers, as well as for tandoors, commercial units, CNG stations, and ice factories, will remain the same. However, the gas sale prices for general industries, power stations and independent power producers have risen. The development came two days after the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet approved a revised natural gas pricing structure for the fiscal year 2025–26, allowing a hike in prices for bulk consumers. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
