ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has given permits for construction of over 150 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) auto refuelling stations to share the responsibility of conventional auto fuels.
This was revealed by an official on Thursday and All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) central chairman, Ghayas Paracha said CNG station proprietors weren’t interested in entering into the LPG auto refuelling stations business, reported The News.
Mr Paracha stated, “LPG refuelling is an entirely different business and requires a different infrastructure, therefore we are not willing to switch to LPG despite the supply constraints with CNG.”
Till the end of last year financial year in June, the country had 129 LPG marketing entities and 13 LPG producers and had over 4,000 authorized distributors.
APCNGA central chairman said there are ten operational LPG auto refuelling stations across the country and over 150 had been provided construction permits for it.
He highlighted these licences were granted after fulfilling all formalities, requirements and verification of the construction site by third-party inspectors in lieu of the rules and regulations framed.
And Mr Paracha shared LPG wasn’t safe for use in vehicles across the country due to lack of rules and their implantation.
A Ministry of Energy official stated the government was encouraging the development of LPG fuelling stations to phase out CNG stations.
LPG at the moment constitutes 0.7 percent of the total primary energy supply in Pakistan and its present size of the market is around 1.21 million tons per annum.
Majorly LPG is utilized to meet the domestic fuel needs of the population and especially in localities like rural areas and the mountainous terrains where natural gas supply is not available.
The official said “OGRA anticipates a significant growth of LPG auto refuelling stations in near future. The LPG companies entitled by their memorandum and article of association are applying for a number of LPG storage and filling plants, LPG refuelling stations and LPG storage facilities at the port in light of LPG Policy and Regulatory Framework.”
