Business Desk 
Oct 05, 2025
The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has outlined that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) — Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) — have control of the essential infrastructure in Pakistan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, which limits access for private competitors.
In their research study “State of Competition in the LNG Sector in Pakistan,” the CCP examined the structural, regulatory, and behavioural impediments to competition in the LNG market.
The results revealed that high capital costs, SOEs with the backing of the government, and market concentration, in entities such as Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO), were preventing new entrants.
The CCP pointed out that the circular debt in the gas sector, which by January 2024 reached Rs2,866 billion, was a significant delay to market reform.
Notably, the circular debt is caused by delayed tariff increases, inefficiencies such as unaccounted-for-gas (UFG) losses, and the diversion of expensive RLNG to the domestic user market in winter.
The report stated that decision-making in the LNG market continued to be controlled by the SOEs, which resulted in prioritisation of projects, resulting in a non-transparent process. The long-term contracts, subsidies and access to government-backed financing have entrenched their position in the market.
In response to these challenges, the CCP put forward reforms which propose initiatives like a ‘One-Stop-Shop’ for LNG import clearance with a Central Coordination Committee (CCC), expedited Third Party Access (TPA) rules for terminals and pipelines, and unbundling the Sui companies’ transmission and distribution functions.
The commission also suggested moving to amend the OGRA Ordinance, 2002, to support this type of structural separation and promote an idea similar to Japan’s Gas Business Act (2015).
Developing and implementing a three-year plan to tackle UFG losses, including clear targets for annual targets coordinated with ECC policies, was also recommended.
