THE Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has started issuing new compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations licenses. The Government had earlier allowed the Authority to issue liquefied natural gas (LNG) based CNG licenses following a decision that permitted the private sector to import the LNG.
A ban was imposed on establishment of new CNG stations in the country twelve years back in the backdrop of crippling shortage of gas that forced frequent load-shedding for domestic, industrial and commercial consumers. It was argued the policy to promote the use of gas in transport was highly flawed as there was no justification to waste this precious resource in this way. In fact, increased use of gas by public transport and personal vehicles reduced oil import bill significantly and helped tackle the issue of environmental degradation. Use of cheaper gas by public transport also helped check frequent increase in fare and transportation charges. There are also no two opinions that the presence of CNG stations in the heart of densely populated locality not only posed risks to the life and property but was also the main reason for dangerous drop in gas pressure for domestic consumers. We hope that the new policy would take stock of all these issues and licenses would be issued after physical verification and firm assurances that the stations would be based purely on imported LNG. The ban on import of CNG kits has also been lifted and hopefully best quality brands would be imported that have comparative advantage of less fuel consumption.