Punjab CNG stations to remain closed for two weeks

LAHORE: Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Ltd (SNGPL) on Thursday announced that compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations operating on re-liquified natural gas (RLNG) in Punjab will remain closed for two weeks with immediate effect.

According to a notification issued by SNGPL, owing to suspension of RLNG supplies, the load management plan for CNG stations was being revised.

A notification issued by the company said owing to maintenance / outage of Pakistan GasPort Consortium Limited (PGPC) terminal from December 27, 2018 to January 10, 2019, gas supply to all CNG stations operating on RLNG supplies would be discontinued during this period.

The step was being taken in view of considerable reduction in RLNG supplies, it said.

The government on Wednesday had decided to ensure uninterrupted supply of gas to domestic consumers, commercial units and zero-rated industries.

It is worth noting that the prime minister has asked the authorities concerned to notify the ban on import of furnace oil and implement it with true spirit and instead generate the electricity from LNG and coal in future at the maximum.

The prime minister also asked for introduction of average gas price mechanism in the country by mixing up LNG with system gas, which would be resisted by the three gas producing provinces.

According to data issued earlier this week, the supply of regasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) was likely to be around one billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) this fiscal, which was almost equal to last year’s level.

It was said that during winter, approximately 70 percent of the gas would be provided to the domestic sector, which was normally around 40 percent during summer.

The maximum supply of around 2.1 Bcf/d was expected during the current winter months, an official of SNGPL said.

Presently, the network of gas utility supplying natural gas to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was getting 0.830 Bcf/day as swap arrangements from the Sui Southern Gas Company.

Of the total 2.050bcf/d gas being supplied to different categories of consumers, 1.220bcf/d is system gas. Sindh too has been suffering from the sporadic supply of CNG.