FPCCI welcomes LNG supply agreement with Qatar

KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has welcomed the agreement of LNG supply with Qatar and said it will help the country overcome the energy crisis.

Abdul Rauf Alam, president of the FPCCI, in a statement on Saturday applauded the efforts of the prime minister and said that four agreements and MoUs have been signed with Qatar to increase cooperation in diverse fields.

“The most important agreement is the import of LNG from Qatar, which shows keen interest of the present government to overcome the energy crises in the next two years,” he said.

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry president expects that after LNG import from Qatar the issue of the shortage of natural gas would be resolved and the industrial units in Punjab would remain in operation without any seasonal interruption.

Quoting the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2014/15, he said that natural gas production had been stagnant at the 4,000 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD).

There exists constrained demand for natural gas of 6,000MMCFD against the supply of 4,000MMCFD, while the unconstrained demand for gas is estimated to be 8,000MMCFD or more than double the current domestic production.

In the same survey the industrial gas consumption was recorded at 259,032mmcft gas consumed by the industry.

Under the agreement, Pakistan will import 3.75 million tons of LNG annually from Qatar, which will fulfill 20 percent need of the country, he said.

Alam said that uninterrupted natural gas supply to the industrial consumers would help boost production, investment and generate employment in the country, which would ultimately be transferred into the higher rate of GDP growth.

Qatar hosts more than 100,000 Pakistanis, who have been contributing towards the development and prosperity of the country and act as a bridge between the people of the two brotherly countries, he said.

However, the Qatar government has also assured to provide jobs to another 100,000 Pakistanis, he added.