Pak-Arab Refinery Company (PARCO) on Saturday increased its LPG base-stock price by 10 per cent.
State-owned PARCO, which is the country’s largest refinery, increased its LPG price to Rs 68,615/MT on Oct 8 from the price it had notified just days earlier, Rs. 62,400/MT. The hike in LPG's per ton price took the prices of LPG up by Rs6 per kilogram.
In so doing, PARCO has matched the LPG price notified by state-owned Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL).
“Since the government of Pakistan is the country’s largest producer of LPG and account for over 60 per cent of the market, this price revision will adversely impact consumer prices,” said Belal Jabbar, spokesman of the LPG Association of Pakistan (LPGAP). “Suspension of anti-consumer and anti-competition clauses of the LPG Policy 2011 by the Lahore High Court had immediately led to reduced LPG prices across the value-chain, PARCO’s latest notification lessens the impact of these reductions,” he said.
Jabbar said the court’s suspension of the controversial petroleum development levy on local LPG producers had reduced LPG prices by up to Rs. 12/kg. The price revision by PARCO would now cause an overall decrease of Rs. 5/kg and not Rs. 12/kg, he held.
“It is important to apprise consumers of pricing across the value-chain in order to protect their interests and counter wanton speculation,” he said. “Persons claiming to be stakeholders in the LPG sector are responsible for such anti-consumer speculation aimed at creating uncertainty for their own vested interests,” said the spokesman. “Retail prices are now averaging around Rs. 110/kg,” he added.
“PARCO’s new price of Rs. 68,615/MT is lower than that of other public sector LPG producers. OGDCL and PPL reduced their price from Rs. 73,900/MT to Rs. 68,621/MT following the Lahore High Court’s suspension on Oct. 5 of the petroleum development levy and other controversial clauses in the new policy, which was made in secrecy by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to the exclusion of the LPG sector.”
State-owned PARCO, which is the country’s largest refinery, increased its LPG price to Rs 68,615/MT on Oct 8 from the price it had notified just days earlier, Rs. 62,400/MT. The hike in LPG's per ton price took the prices of LPG up by Rs6 per kilogram.
In so doing, PARCO has matched the LPG price notified by state-owned Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL).
“Since the government of Pakistan is the country’s largest producer of LPG and account for over 60 per cent of the market, this price revision will adversely impact consumer prices,” said Belal Jabbar, spokesman of the LPG Association of Pakistan (LPGAP). “Suspension of anti-consumer and anti-competition clauses of the LPG Policy 2011 by the Lahore High Court had immediately led to reduced LPG prices across the value-chain, PARCO’s latest notification lessens the impact of these reductions,” he said.
Jabbar said the court’s suspension of the controversial petroleum development levy on local LPG producers had reduced LPG prices by up to Rs. 12/kg. The price revision by PARCO would now cause an overall decrease of Rs. 5/kg and not Rs. 12/kg, he held.
“It is important to apprise consumers of pricing across the value-chain in order to protect their interests and counter wanton speculation,” he said. “Persons claiming to be stakeholders in the LPG sector are responsible for such anti-consumer speculation aimed at creating uncertainty for their own vested interests,” said the spokesman. “Retail prices are now averaging around Rs. 110/kg,” he added.
“PARCO’s new price of Rs. 68,615/MT is lower than that of other public sector LPG producers. OGDCL and PPL reduced their price from Rs. 73,900/MT to Rs. 68,621/MT following the Lahore High Court’s suspension on Oct. 5 of the petroleum development levy and other controversial clauses in the new policy, which was made in secrecy by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to the exclusion of the LPG sector.”
