SNGPL to clear backlog of 1 million gas connection applications this year

Islamabad: Sui Northern Gas Company Limited (SNGPL) is confident to clear backlog of gas connection applications during the current fiscal year, official sources in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Friday said.

“The SNGPL issued 1.5 million new connections since the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government came into power in 2013, and hopefully the figure would reach 2.5 million till completion of its tenure,” the sources told this agency.

The sources said National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources had also recently recommended that the SNGPL would give two million gas connections during the current fiscal years 2017-18 and2018-19.

They said gas supply to consumers had witnessed great improvement after the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), discovery of 101 oil and gas reserves during the last four years.

“During tenure of the current government, 466 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) additional gas from new discoveries and 478 mmcfd gas from existing fields, while 11,149 barrels per day (bpd) oil from new finds and21,194 bpd from existing wells have so far been added in the system,” the sources said.

Answering a question, the sources informed that SNGPL and SSGCL have planned to invest Rs 12,702 million on transmission projects, Rs 43,045million on distribution projects and Rs 8,462 million on other projects.

During July 2016 to February 2017, they said, the utility companies provided 360,465 domestic, 339 commercial and 20 industrial connections across the country.While, they spent Rs 17,925 million on transmission projects, Rs 11,183 million on distribution projects and Rs 14,925 million on other projects.

The companies laid 814 kilometre gas transmission network, 4,153kilometer distribution and 1,162 kilometre service lines and connected 104villages and town to gas network.