Tag Archives: LNG

Punjab turns No.1 consumer of gas

on 12/03/2018

Three power plants makes it to surpass Sindh

Punjab has emerged as the single largest beneficiary of both imported LNG and locally produced natural gas. Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority  OGRA’s Annual Report 2016-17 said Punjab replaced Sindh as the single largest consumer of gas. It utilised 47% of the total 2,915 million standard cubic feet per day (mscfd) of the fuel during the said year, compared to 42% of 2,727 mscfd last year and left Sindh behind in consumption.

The federal and provincial governments set up three imported gas-fired power plants with total capacity of 3,600 megawatts in Punjab. They They have luckily come online and are believed to increase production with availability of more gas into the system. Sindh largely failed to take benefit of the imported LNG, as its share in total consumption fell to 43% compared to 46% last year.  KPK and Balochistan’s ranks in consumption remained unchanged at third and fourth position, respectively. However, KPK’s consumption fell to 7% from 10%, while Balochistan consumption remained unchanged at 2%.

Recently, the provincial government has initiated the fourth LNG-fired power plant of 1,200MW.  Federal government has recently tasked the two gas utility firms; Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) to lay down the third gas pipeline from Karachi to Punjab to increase gas transportation to LNG-based power plants and CNG filling stations and commercial and industrial users.

Pakistan needs 7 billion cubic feet per day  of gas to meet its requirement. Out of this, 3.9 bcfd is covered by domestic production and 1.2 bcfd comes through imports. Surprisingly, the share of Punjab in total gas production remained negligible at 3% in both years; FY16 and FY17. This, however, was standing at 5% two years ago in FY15.

Despite a notable drop in consumption, Sindh maintained its number one rank at 56%, compared to 63% last year. Balochistan produced 13%, compared to 17%, while K-P generated 12% compared to 7%.The share of imported LNG gas in total gas supplies stands at 16% in the year, the regulator said.

On the contrary, Sindh which remains the single largest producer of gas and facilitating transportation of imported gas to Punjab, continued to face gas outages and low gas pressure in the province, particularly at commercial (including CNG filling station), industrial zones and residential areas.

OGRA reported that the power sector emerged as the single largest consumer of available gas in the country. It utilised 32% of the gas in FY17, followed by fertiliser and residential at 21% each. Captive power plants used 11%, general industry 9% and transport utilised 5% of the total gas in the year.

Sindh wants circulation of LNG Import Policy

on 19/05/2017

y of Petroleum and Natural Resources to circulate draft policies for import of LNG as mandated under Article 158 and Article 172(3) of the constitution. In a letter addressed to Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, federal minister Mr. Shah made the demand recalling the federal government approval to import LNG without Council of Common Interest (CCI) endorsement. The letter, written shortly after the CCI meeting, reads as follows: `Reference to the deliberations in the 31st meeting of CCI on May 2, wherein all the Chief Ministers confirmed the minutes of the meeting held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Law and Justice on March 3, 2017, yourself very kindly agreed to circulate the policy. `The committee made the following decisions: It is, therefore, requested to please share respective summaries for CCI along with draft policies for import of LNG and its utilization, implementation and Article 158 and Article 172(3) of the Constitution at the earliest prior to its placement before CCI for deliberations,` the letter adds. All provincial governments asserted that the LNG import is a CCI subject and therefore import policy must be approved by the council meeting. Article 172(3) says that the concerned provincial government from where oil and gas reserves are discovered would jointly manage its control along with the federal government. Article 158 of the constitution guarantees the right of a province producing gas to meet its requirement first and then share with other province, if it is in excess. On flood protection policy, he presented a notification of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto which stated that flood protection was the job of the federal government. The federal government has prepared a flood protection plan worth Rs177 billion and asking provinces to cover it. It was agreed that the provinces and federal government would share expenditures on 50:50 basis.

Plan to revive sick textile unit gets nod

on 07/05/2017

The National Assembly`s Standing Committee on Finance has supported the proposal by the textile sector to restructure bank loans of sick units to help their revival. Members of the textile sector informed the committee that the revival of sick units will earn $1 billion in foreign exchange and create five million jobs. Committee chairman Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh noted that exports have declined from $25bn to $20bn in the last four years and the decrease will continue if its basic causes are not addressed. The representatives of the textile sector identified a high cost of LNG, non-clearance of refunds and government borrowing by banks as major causes that led to the decline in exports. Committee members noted that the government borrows heavily from banks and leaves no space for the private sector to obtain loans. The meeting was also informed that exports from Bangladesh have increased from $24bn to $34bn.