ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has announced revised Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) prices for January, reflecting a slight decrease for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) and an increase for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGCL), amidst record-high system losses.
Karachi-based SSGCL, serving Sindh and Balochistan, saw its system losses surge to 16.16% from 13% last month. Lahore-based SNGPL, supplying Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, recorded an increase in losses to 8.6% from 8%.
For SNGPL, the RLNG sale price at the transmission stage was reduced by 1.98% to $11.73 per mmBtu from December’s $11.97. At the distribution stage, the price dropped by 1.8% to $12.67 per mmBtu from $12.90.
In contrast, SSGCL’s RLNG transmission price increased by 0.44% to $10.59 per mmBtu from $10.54, while its distribution price rose by 0.45% to $12.6 per mmBtu, up from $12.54 in December.
A significant cost disparity remains between the transmission and distribution stages, largely due to high distribution losses. The RLNG prices for SSGCL and SNGPL at distribution — $12.6 and $12.67 per mmBtu, respectively — are notably higher than the Pakistan State Oil’s (PSO) average delivered ex-ship (DES) price of $8.94 per mmBtu.
The higher prices stem from added charges by LNG importers — PSO and Pakistan LNG Ltd (PLL) — and port authorities, which apply margins and retainage fees on top of OGRA-notified loss rates of 8.6% for SNGPL and 16.16% for SSGCL.
The adjusted RLNG basket price for January is based on 11 cargoes, incorporating these cost factors.
