Engro to supply additional 200mmscfd gas to SSGC

ISLAMABAD: Engro Elengy Terminal Private Limited (EETPL) signed an LNG Supply Agreement (LSA) with Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) for provision of additional 200 mmscfd gas, a statement said on Tuesday.

“Today’s signing is testament to our resolve to meet the rising demand of gas in the country and fuel economic growth and help alleviate the energy crisis,” Jehangir Piracha, CEO of EETPL, said while commenting on the development.

Piracha added that importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) was a more economically viable source of energy since it was not only cheaper but also a more efficient fuel for power generation. The accord was inked by Piracha and Amin Rajput, acting MD SSGC, in presence of Minister of State for Petroleum Jam Kamal Khan.

The statement said the EETPL had won the bid in 2014 for the construction, commissioning and operation of the First LNG terminal of Pakistan. “Built in a world record time of 332 days, the terminal has a peak capacity for regasification of up to 690 mmcfd of LNG. Since Jan 2017, the terminal has increased its output to 600 MMSCFD from 400 MMSCFD to meet the rising demand of gas across the country,” the EETPL said in the statement.

It added that with the recent amendment in the LNG supply agreement between SSGC & EETPL, the tolling rate for the additional 200 MMSCFD would be 0.1745 USD/MMBTU, which was lowest in the region and would bring down the overall rate of 600 MMSCFD rate to 0.4799 USD/MMBTU.

“Operating at one of the highest utilisation rates in the world, EETPL continues to provide savings of between $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion to the national exchequer through import substitution of expensive furnace oil,” the LNG company said. Moreover, the statement added that the assurance of the LNG import has kicked off a fast-growing LNG ecosystem and transitive economic activity as well with over 750 compressed natural gas (CNG) stations operating across Pakistan. “Also, uninterrupted gas provisioning has also contributed significantly to the revival of the fertiliser and the textile industries resulting in substantial increase in national production,” the EETPL said.