OGRA issues 63 LPG licences in first nine months of FY20

ISLAMABAD: Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has issued around 63 licences of varying nature for the promotion of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) industry in the country during the first nine months of the current fiscal year.

From July 2019 to March 2020, the gas regulatory authority issued one operational licence for LPG storage terminal, three for setting up of LPG air-mix plants, 35 for construction of LPG storage and filling plants and 18 for the operation of LPG storage and filling plants, according to Economic Survey 2019-20.

During the period under review, the LPG sector attracted approximately Rs3.72 billion investment in supply and distribution infrastructure, which shows investors’ confidence in business friendly policies introduced by the government.

In addition OGRA also granted three licences for the construction of LPG auto refueling stations and three operational permits for LPG auto refueling stations.

“OGRA has simplified the procedure for grant of LPG licence, which is now granted on a fast- track basis once the requirements are fulfilled,” the survey report said.

Currently, as many as 11 LPG producers and 200 LPG marketing companies are operating in the country, with more than 7,000 authorised LPG distributors.

The current size of the LPG market is around 1,061,447 Metric Tonnes (MT) per annum, while the commodity supply during the nine-month period stood at 739,785 MT. Around 76 percent of the LPG consumed is met through local production, whereas the rest is imported.

Till March 2020, as many as 52 LPG equipment manufacturing companies were registered with the authority.