LPG Mafia Era Is Over: PM Shehbaz

PM Shehbaz Sharif announced the conclusion of the LPG mafia era during a federal cabinet meeting, stating that the influential groups no longer exert control over the trade. The Prime Minister emphasized that LPG imports and distribution will now be conducted with competition and transparency, with state-owned companies like PSO and PARCO taking charge of supplying the fuel.

He also revealed that the inaugural auction of domestically produced LPG will be held the following week, under surveillance, while importing firms will publish their landed costs on their websites.

The new LPG policy, approved by the cabinet, reinstates four state-owned entities - PSO, Pakistan LNG, SSGC-LPG, and PARCO-LPG - to import LPG through government-to-government and business-to-business deals. These firms have received supply offers from Saudi Arabia and Oman. The discretionary quota system, which favored influential groups, will be discontinued.

Local producers will distribute LPG through open auctions in quantities ranging from five to ten tonnes, monitored by the OGRA and the Petroleum Division. The base price will be aligned with Saudi Aramco’s monthly contract price, and OGRA will cease issuing LPG price notifications.

According to the Prime Minister, the profits from the auctions will be allocated to the national treasury and utilized to subsidize LPG for regular citizens. These funds will be deposited into a fund for BISP-eligible households. The policy change follows a significant surge in cylinder prices in the open market, which reached up to Rs. 7,200, more than double OGRA’s notified rate of Rs. 3,296. With increased supply from auctions and imports, the disparity between official and market prices is expected to diminish.

This development comes after the LPG mafia era ended, providing clarity and stability to the country's LPG trade.