Pakistan’s gas woes deepen amid winter demand

Ag APP

ISLAMABAD/KARACHI/QUETTA/PESHAWAR: Pakistan on Saturday faced gas supply issues amid increasing demand in the northern areas of the country in the thick of winter, leading to supply being curtailed to compressed natural gas (CNG) stations and industries, as the government said it has procured 30 per cent additional liquefied natural gas at the “cheapest ever price for January”.

A Petroleum Division spokesperson explained the government’s winter gas load-management strategy, saying Pakistan will be moving 30 per cent more “LNG molecules” in this January compared to January 2018, at the cheapest ever price of $6.34 [per MMBTU] for a peak winter month,” the spokesperson said in a weekly press statement.

He said the government had arranged 12 LNG cargoes for January 2021. “One cargo that was scheduled for 30th December, and was intended to supply for January 2021, has been moved a few days ago into January. In addition, the volume [gas supply] has been increased in certain cargoes.”

“With these robust steps,” the spokesperson said, “the load management plan approved by the federal cabinet for this winter, had remained undisturbed”.

Both Sindh and Balochistan announced the closure of CNG stations on Friday, while gas supply to stations was being suspended in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) had said the supply would remain suspended for two days a week — on Mondays and Saturdays.

The Petroleum Division spokesman said the curtailment would be done primarily for the CNG sector and captive power units, “on the need basis”. Moreover, he said, the city loads had increased by more than 9 per cent on the network of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the last week alone on account of a severe cold wave resulting in pressure drops.

Similarly, the Sui Southern Gas Company faced pressure drops in Karachi and Quetta. “For example, with each 1 degree Celsius drop in temperature, the demand increases by 6 million cubic feet per day in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, alone,” he said.

The spokesperson requested the public to avoid excessive use of the gas and report, if they found any consumer involved in using compressors or any other illegal activity, which was a major reason for the pressure drops.

Geo News reported people in various areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab complaining they do not have gas in their homes, adding to their worries in the bitter cold. State media reported citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Pakpattan were “misery” due to the loadshedding of gas. Talking to newspersons on Saturday the people complained about gas load shedding and low pressure, with women saying that they could not cook food and demanded the relevant authorities look into the matter.

Punjab’s citizens being compelled to buy the more expensive liquefied propane gas because of this, while people in Balochistan’s Quetta reported low gas pressure in various areas.

Officials of the SSGC, however, are saying Balochistan is getting all the gas it needs. SSGC General Manager Madni Siddiqui said Balochistan is getting 200mmcfd of gas according to its requirement. He said the low pressure is because of the use of compressors.