OGRA revises wellhead gas prices upward, E&P companies to benefit

Pakistan's oil and gas exploration companies are set to benefit from higher wellhead gas prices after the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) notified upward revisions for several gas fields for the second half of 2026, according to Topline Research.

The revised prices, effective against the first-half 2026 base, represent a routine semiannual adjustment based on the average oil price during the preceding six months. Notifications for some fields have been issued, while revisions for the remaining fields are expected to follow.

Arab Light crude averaged USD 92.2 per barrel during January-June 2026, compared with USD 68.4 per barrel during July-December 2025, an increase of about 35%, Topline Research analyst Muhammad Abdur Rafay said in a research note. The higher oil-price benchmark is being used to determine wellhead gas prices for July-December 2026.

For companies operating under the Petroleum Policy 2012 (PP2012), the 35% increase in the oil-price benchmark is expected to translate into an estimated 10% to 11% increase in wellhead gas prices, because of the sliding benefit mechanism under the policy, Rafay said. "Although already incorporated into our forecast assumptions, we believe the revision is positive for E&P earnings," he said.

Overall, the notified revisions indicate an average increase of about 8% to 10% in wellhead gas prices, according to Topline Research. The higher gas prices are expected to provide a positive earnings impact for exploration and production companies, particularly those with significant exposure to fields governed by the PP2012 pricing framework.

Topline noted that wellhead prices for some fields are based on different oil-price reference periods, including December-May 2026 and June-November 2025, which could result in slight variations from the broader price increase.

The latest notification is part of OGRA's regular semiannual wellhead gas price-setting mechanism, under which prices for the next six months are determined using the average of the preceding six months' relevant oil prices.