Pakistan got no oil at concessional rates in past five years, NA told

ISLAMABAD: No country has provided oil to Pakistan at concessional rates/ loan basis during the last five years, the Petroleum Division stated in a report submitted to the National Assembly.

The information was provided to the National Assembly in a written reply to a question by Naveed Aamir, who asked for the names of countries that provided oil to Pakistan at concessional rates on a loan basis over the past five years.

The Petroleum Division also submitted a report in the National Assembly with regard to the names of countries, other than Qatar, with which Pakistan has signed LNG agreements.

In a written reply to a question by Naveed Aamir, Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik stated that currently, Pakistan is importing LNG on government-to-government contract basis only from Qatar; however, Pakistan has Inter governmental agreements (IGAs) with other countries such as Oman, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Italy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for cooperation in the field of energy, which are non-binding agreements.

Moreover, the minister stated in a written reply that Pakistan has also executed a non-binding framework agreement with SOCAR, Azerbaijan, under IGA for import of one (1) LNG cargo/month (as and when required) on take and pay basis, valid till 23rd July 2028.

In addition to Qatar, PSO has also procured LNG from other countries during the past five years.

On the acute shortage of gas supply all over the country, Minister for Energy (Petroleum Division), said that reportedly both the Sui companies are facing shortfall in gas demand and supply primarily due to natural depletion in reservoirs and increasing demand at the consumers end.

In a written reply to a question by Mussarat Rafique Mahesar, the Petroleum Division told the National Assembly that due to this deficit, load management activities are being carried out from time to time to manage the demand and supply position. As per plan, SSGC is supplying uninterrupted gas to domestic consumers during the peak cooking hours, including consumers in district Dadu, Sindh. However, some areas on tail-end of the gas supply network may face low pressures for which companies undertake pipeline rehabilitation measures, where required.