LPG price in Pakistan: cylinders selling at Rs 5,000 against the Rs 3,296 Ogra price, govt orders a hoarding crackdown

The LPG price in Pakistan is Rs 3,296 for an 11.8 kg domestic cylinder in October, as notified by Ogra, but cylinders are being sold for about Rs 5,000 in many markets, roughly 52% more, and the federal government has now ordered a crackdown on hoarding ahead of winter. The Petroleum Division wrote to the Ogra chairman and its director general for LPG asking for coordinated action with provincial governments and the federal agencies that handle port clearance, Dawn reported on Sunday.

What the government says is going wrong

According to the Petroleum Division's letter, importers are bringing in LPG in line with domestic demand, but the imported cargoes "do not appear to be regularly lifted from LPG import terminals." Gas that stays in storage instead of moving to distributors creates what the division called an artificial shortage. The steepest increases are in hilly, remote and off-grid areas, the places where LPG is the main cooking and heating fuel because there is no piped Sui gas.

The division has asked Ogra to:

• stop hoarding and make sure stock is lifted from terminals and supplied to demand centres on a regular schedule;
• start enforcement so that cylinders are sold at the notified price, with priority for hilly, remote and off-grid areas;
• move ahead with selling locally produced LPG through a transparent, competitive process under the LPG Policy 2016, which the government says is held up by litigation it is fighting in court.

What the gap costs you

A household that goes through two cylinders a month in winter would pay about Rs 3,400 a month more than the official rate at those prices. The per-kg figures are our own arithmetic from the cylinder prices.

The October price itself was already up Rs 244 from September, as we reported in our LPG price for October story. Supply has also tightened at the border: Pakistan has suspended trade with Iran at Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan, a route that carried LPG trucks into Balochistan.

What you can do

1. Know the number. Ogra's notified price for October is Rs 3,296 per 11.8 kg domestic cylinder. Ogra notifies a new price at the start of each month.
2. Ask for a weighed cylinder. Short-filled cylinders are a common complaint. A full domestic cylinder carries 11.8 kg of gas on top of the empty cylinder's weight, which is stamped on it.
3. Complain. Overcharging can be reported to Ogra's complaint cell or to your district's price control magistrate through the deputy commissioner's office.
4. Compare with piped gas. If you have a Sui gas connection, our gas bill calculator shows what the same heat costs on the SNGPL or SSGC tariff.

What happens next

Ogra has, according to Dawn, directed provincial governments and port-side federal authorities to take corrective measures quickly. No deadline was given. The November LPG price is due from Ogra at the start of next month, and we will update this page when it is notified.