By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority raised the price of liquefied petroleum gas by 35 percent for April, passing on the full brunt of higher global costs to households and businesses as the Saudi Aramco contract price surged 44 percent.
In a notification issued on Tuesday, Ogra set the maximum consumer price at 304.15 rupees per kilogram for April, up from 225.84 rupees in March. That translates to a new price of 3,588.60 rupees for an 11.8-kilogram domestic cylinder — the size used by most Pakistani households — compared with 2,664.88 rupees the previous month. The increase works out to 923.71 rupees, or 34.66 percent, per cylinder.
The increase comes amid rising global energy prices and ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
The regulator’s calculation begins with the producer price, which is based on a 40 percent propane and 60 percent butane blend. Ogra fixed that at 262,817.53 rupees per metric ton for April, against 184,537 rupees in March. The figure already includes a nominal excise duty of 85 rupees per ton.
From there, Ogra layered on a petroleum levy of 4,669 rupees per ton and 18 percent general sales tax amounting to 40,091 rupees. That brought the producer price for an 11.8-kilogram cylinder to 3,101.25 rupees, versus 2,177.54 rupees in March.
To reach the final consumer price, the authority added fixed margins totaling 35,000 rupees per ton — 17,000 rupees for marketing, 10,000 rupees for distribution and 8,000 rupees for transportation — plus an additional 18 percent GST on those margins, or 6,300 rupees per ton. The resulting maximum retail price is 304,117.53 rupees per ton, or 3,588.59 rupees per 11.8-kilogram cylinder.
The new rates take effect immediately and will remain in force through April 30.
Ogra said the jump was driven almost entirely by the 44 percent rise in the Saudi Aramco contract price, the regional benchmark for LPG. A marginal 0.11 percent decline in the average rupee-dollar exchange rate provided only negligible relief. The net effect is a per-kilogram increase of 78.28 rupees at the consumer level.
The hike marks the latest in a series of energy-price adjustments in Pakistan, where LPG serves as a primary cooking fuel for millions of households and small businesses that lack access to natural gas pipelines. The regulator’s formula, which automatically passes through changes in international prices and local taxes, is designed to keep domestic supply aligned with import costs but frequently triggers sharp monthly swings for consumers.
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