Cut in gas provision to power generation units due to short supply from fields

The managing director of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Dr Faizullah Abbasi has said that the reduction in gas supply to power generation units is mainly due to shortage of supply from various gas fields. The gas supply to SSGC has reduced due to closure of Zamzama Gas Field for its Annual Turn Around (ATA) and provision of curtailed gas supplies to SSGC from other fields, he said this while briefing the media at Karachi Press Club here on Monday.
He said that the SSGC has to reduce gas supply to Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) due to less availability of gas. There is no any other reason for reduction of gas supply to KESC, he added. "We are ready to supply agreed gas to KESC despite huge receivables of around Rs 23 billion," he said.
He said that SSGC receives gas from 15 different gas fields located in Sindh and Balochistan. Every gas field closes its supply every year due to ATA or maintenance and gas supply reduces to the gas distribution companies. He pointed out that ATA of Zamzama-1 was planned from October 13 to October 21, 2010. However, it was rescheduled for October 27 to November 4, 2010. "We would be facing gas supply shortage for another few days," he added.
He said that the gas supply to power generation units would be increased once the gas supply to SSGC normalises. About company's priorities, he said that domestic and commercial consumers are supplied gas on priority basis, then industrial and other customers.
Replying to a question, the MD, SSGC said that 72 percent of the total gas is produced from Sindh, 20 percent from Balochistan and remaining from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. About consumption, he said around 30 percent gas is consumed in Sindh.
On another question, he said that the gap between gas production and demand is increased in winter due to increasing heating load in the different parts of the country. For example, he said, gas demand increases three times in the winter season in the different parts of Balochistan.