ISLAMABAD-The government Wednesday slashed the prices of re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) for both the Sui companies by up to $0.161 per MMBtu (1.3pc) for the month of August.
According to notification issued by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, RLNG price for the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) consumers has been reduced by $0.1608 per MMBtu or 1.27 percent from the previous month, while for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), prices have been slashed by $0.1473 per MMBtu, marking a decline of 1.31 percent compared to July. OGRA issued its determined RLNG weighted average sale provisional price and has set the rate at $12.4885 per MMBtu for SNGPL consumers, while SSGC consumers will pay $12.9649 per MMBtu. In contrast, during July 2023, SNGPL consumers were charged $12.6493/mmBtu for RLNG, and SSGC consumers paid $13.1367/mmBtu. This price reduction is part of a sequence of consecutive decreases in RLNG prices implemented by the government over the past seven months. However, an exception was observed in May when RLNG prices were raised by $0.1768 per MMBtu (1.3 percent) for consumers of both Sui companies.
The downward trend in RLNG prices started in January with a decrease of up to 2.2 percent, followed by further reductions of 4.3 percent in February, 3.16 percent in March, and 0.47 percent in April. In May, its price was increased by 1.3 percent and again it started reducing in June as it was reduced by 2.55 percent, in July by 1.5 percent and now for August, its price was cut by 1.3 percent. The newly adjusted RLNG prices encompass various components such as charges for LNG terminals, transmission losses, port charges, and margins for state-run importers, namely Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL). These prices were determined based on the import of nine cargoes by PSO and one cargo by PLL. 

It’s noteworthy that PSO procures LNG under two long-term contracts with Qatar, with pricing mechanisms set at 13.37 percent and 10.20 percent of Brent crude oil prices, respectively. Since LNG is pegged to the price of crude, so gas price also fluctuates with crude price movement.