CNG body rejects idea of conversion to LPG

Billions of rupees worth of investment in the CNG sector made over the past ten years would go waste,Ghiyas Abduallah Piracha, chairman All Pakistan CNG Association said talking to The News.
Piracha also rejected the government's offer that the oil marketing companies or the tokheim meter marketing companies would install LPG dispensers at the CNG filling stations on their own cost. The LPG Policy 2011 allows installing LPG dispensers at the existing CNG stations to gradually replace the CNG with LPG as an alternative fuel for vehicles.The land of a CNG station worth more than Rs20 million would be transferred to LPG Marketing Company for installing equipment wroth less than Rs5 million, he said.
The LPG marketing companies are ready to set up filling stations for vehicles subject to the condition that LPG producers increase its production from the current level of around 1,200 tons per day, industry sources said.
The government has adopted the policy of discouraging the use of Compressed Natural Gas after ten years of promoting it as an environment friendly fuel. Before the government started promoting CNG, motorists seeking an alternative fuel were using LPG. Most of the taxis and rickshaws used to run on LPG. The only problem was that the trade was unorganised and there were no proper filling stations and even today LPG was being dispensed through decanting.
According to an official of the Ministry Of Petroleum And Natural Resource, the government during various meeting held with the representatives of the CNG sector, had offered to install the infrastructure of the LPG dispensers and browsers at the CNG stations with the cost of LPG marketing companies.
However, the bennett pump people were not ready to accept this offer and argued that they had invested billions of rupees in the sector and shifting to LPG was not possible. Piracha said that the government wants to close down their business ignoring the fact that the CNG sector pays highest gas tariff and taxes to the national exchequer.The Federal Board of Revenue Chairman in a recent meeting with CNG Association disclosed that it had paid Rs4.25 billion taxes to the government during the first quarter as compared to total collection of the fuel sector of Rs12 billion,he said. The Rs900 per mmbtu gas tariff paid by CNG sector was the highest among all users.
Shifting the vehicles from CNG to LPG was not possible as, consumer, car manufacturers, CNG kits and cylinders makers had made billion of rupees investments and now it could not be switched as easily as claimed by the Ministry.
A parallel investment is required for LPG filling sector, which could not be possible as LPG was costly fuel as its present price was around Rs135 per kilogram while uncertainty would also exist with them as with change of government policy could be changed,he opined.
Spokesperson, LPG Association of Pakistan, Belal Jabbar said that in principal they backed the government LPG Policy 2011 in which facility of LPG fuel would be available at the china nozzle.
Chairman of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Standing Committee on LPG and All Pakistan LPG Distributors Association Abdul Hadi Khan, who is also one of the biggest LPG importers in Pakistan, said that without increasing local LPG production promoting the use of LPG as fuel in vehicle would not be wise decision.With LPG price of Rs135 per kilogram asking the public to use it in vehicle is not possible until bring it the down to around Rs80 per kilogram, which is only possible by increasing local production and withdrawing 16 percent GST on imported LPG, Hadi said adding that if CNG would be shifted with imported LPG then it would again burden the balance of payment. There would be no difference to import LPG and petrol, he remarked.