Pakistan has proposed replacing the regulator's notified maximum prices for liquefied petroleum gas with import-parity pricing, in a sweeping change to how household cooking gas is priced.

Under the proposal, reported on 2 November 2026, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority would stop issuing monthly price notifications for local and imported LPG from 1 November 2026. Instead, prices would be based on the Saudi Aramco Contract Price plus import premiums, freight, insurance, incidental costs and taxes. State firms PSO, SSGC LPG, PARCO Pearl Gas and Pakistan LNG Ltd would import in bulk and set monthly base prices.

Targeted help, not a blanket subsidy

The proposal includes a safety net for low-income households: a Producer-Price Differential Fund held under the Public Account, for households meeting Benazir Income Support Programme or approved poverty-means-test criteria, to be audited by the Auditor General. The case for change cites annual demand of 2.4 million metric tons, with imports meeting about 71% of it, and filling-plant prices in January to July 2026 exceeding notified prices by Rs60 to Rs79 per kilogram on average, reaching Rs158 per kilogram in March.

Importantly, this is a proposal submitted to the federal cabinet for approval, not a finally approved policy. Until a cabinet decision is separately verified, consumers should not treat the new pricing model as in force, and no new consumer price is stated in the proposal reports.

Sources: Bloom Pakistan, 2 November 2026; Energy Update, 2 November 2026.