DRAFT — Gas Deregulation Plan Heads to PM After Finance Minister’s Review
- Suggested slug: gas-deregulation-plan-pm-aurangzeb
- Category: Pakistan Economy
- Focus keyphrase: gas deregulation
- SEO title: Gas Deregulation Plan Heads to PM After Finance Review
- Meta description: Aurangzeb has reviewed a phased gas deregulation roadmap tackling circular debt and cross-subsidies; the plan now goes to the prime minister.
- Tags: gas deregulation, Muhammad Aurangzeb, gas prices, circular debt, Pakistan energy, Sui gas, energy reform
- Original element: explainer context plus own data point — links to Feature Pakistan’s October 19 coverage of the Peshawar gas suspension and the LPG daily-pricing debate, placing the deregulation plan in the full energy-policy picture
- Source: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2635773/gas-deregulation-plan-heads-to-pm (Tribune, published 03:00 PKT 20 Oct 2026)
- Story date: 19 October 2026
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ISLAMABAD: The government is weighing a phased deregulation of the gas sector, with a proposed restructuring roadmap set to be presented to the prime minister after a high-level review chaired by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance, the framework aims to establish what it called a “financially sustainable, efficient and competitive gas market” — one that supports businesses, encourages private investment and protects consumer welfare.
The meeting reviewed the sector’s deep-rooted problems: circular debt, cross-subsidies, unaccounted-for-gas (UFG) losses and persistent supply-demand imbalances. Participants agreed that a sustainable resolution of legacy circular debt and a workable approach to cross-subsidies are central to the viability of any restructured entities, noting that these legacy liabilities have weighed on both the sector’s finances and the government’s fiscal position.
What deregulation would change
In plain terms, deregulation means moving away from a system where the government sets gas prices and the state-run utilities — Sui Northern and Sui Southern — dominate supply, towards a market where private companies can buy, sell and transport gas competitively under an independent regulator’s watch.
The expected outcomes, according to the ministry, include stronger energy security, greater private-sector investment, reduced fiscal and sovereign risk, more business-to-business gas transactions, steadier pricing, cheaper gas for exporters and lower system losses through efficiency benchmarks and performance-based incentives.
The finance minister stressed aligning all stakeholders around what he described as a “practical and implementable reform architecture”. The framework draws on international experience, including gas-sector reforms in Turkiye and the United Kingdom, while accounting for Pakistan’s own institutional structure, market conditions and consumer interests.
Why it matters now
The gas sector’s troubles are not abstract. Circular debt in the energy chain runs into trillions of rupees, UFG losses — gas lost to leakage and theft — remain stubbornly high, and regulated prices have long forced utilities to sell below cost while the government picks up the difference.
Consumers feel the other end of the dysfunction. Just this week, SNGPL announced a gas suspension in Peshawar, and LPG stakeholders demanded daily pricing as rates surged Rs100 per kg — reminders that Pakistan’s gas market, in all its forms, is under strain.
Officials at Monday’s meeting stressed careful sequencing: security of supply must be safeguarded throughout the transition, regulated consumers must be protected, and private investors need a predictable environment before they commit capital.
The road ahead
The framework will now go to the prime minister. If approved, further technical work and stakeholder consultations will refine the reform approach and support what the ministry called “an orderly transition”.
The meeting reaffirmed the government’s commitment to advancing reforms “in a phased and consultative manner” to strengthen financial sustainability, improve operational efficiency, attract investment and develop a more competitive gas market.
The real test will be implementation. Past reform plans have stalled on the politics of raising consumer tariffs and unwinding subsidies. Whether this roadmap survives contact with those realities will become clear in the months after the prime minister’s decision.
