The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has notified a 32 percent hike in Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) prices for August, setting rates at $25.83 per mmBtu for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and $25.09 per mmBtu for Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL).

The retail price translates to around Rs7,204 per mmBtu, marking the largest increase in the commodity’s decade-long history.

The decision follows the procurement of five imported LNG cargoes from the spot market after Pakistan failed to secure shipments from Qatar amid geopolitical tensions. The latest hike comes after a 15 percent increase in July, when rates stood at $19.52 per mmBtu for SNGPL and $18.63 per mmBtu for SSGCL.

August rates reflect a 148 percent jump compared to the February price of $10.45 per mmBtu.

Higher RLNG rates have already pushed fuel costs for power generation up to Rs31 per unit in May, compared to Rs13.72 per unit in April.

Alongside RLNG, the regulator increased liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices by 5.4 percent or Rs12.89 per kg. Effective August 1, LPG costs Rs254.32 per kg, up from Rs241.43 per kg in July.

OGRA also disclosed that it reduced prescribed gas utility prices by Rs134 per unit, a 7.4 percent drop. However, the government will retain the resulting Rs50 billion in consumer savings to clear sector debt rather than passing relief to end-users.

Breaking a two-decade practice, OGRA withheld its June 23 prescribed price determinations from the public website for over a month, uploading them only after interveners raised concerns at public hearings.

The government informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that consumer-end gas prices will remain unchanged.

OGRA has yet to notify consumer-end gas rates for the current fiscal year. The new determinations grant annual revenue allowances of Rs501 billion for SNGPL and Rs315.8 billion for SSGCL, totaling Rs817 billion.

For SNGPL, OGRA reduced the revenue requirement prescribed price from Rs1,853 to Rs1,719 per mmBtu, creating a Rs46.3 billion surplus.

“In exercise of its power under section 8(1) of the Ordinance, the Authority, after taking into consideration points raised by interveners, clarifications provided by the petitioner, scrutiny of the petition and available record, provisionally determines the surplus in estimated revenue requirement for the said year at Rs46.279bn,” OGRA stated.

The regulator noted that the surplus will clear previous financial shortfalls following a June 30, 2024 cabinet directive. SNGPL’s net revenue requirement now sits at Rs501.110 billion.

SSGCL’s prescribed price dropped by Rs86 per mmBtu, yielding a Rs2.5 billion surplus. OGRA provisionally determined a Rs1.421 billion surplus in revenue requirements, alongside Rs1.073 billion in extra recoveries, leaving Rs2.494 billion to cover past shortfalls.

SSGCL services Sindh and Balochistan, while SNGPL supplies Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.