ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum Division Omar Ayub Khan said that a total of 90 discoveries of oil and gas were made during the last five years in the country.
In a written reply to a question in the National Assembly on Monday, the minister said that three discoveries of oil and gas were made in 2020, 12 discoveries in 2019, 22 discoveries in 2018, 17 in 2017, 24 in 2016, and 12 discoveries of oil and gas were made in 2015.
He said that as many as 10 discoveries were made in the Punjab, 69 in Sindh, eight in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and three in Balochistan.
Answering in another written reply, the minister said that the country was going to face shortage of natural gas in this winter because of anticipated gap in demand and supply of gas. He said that during the winter months, gas consumption by the domestic sector increases manifolds on account of use of room and water heaters.
He said that on the other hand, indigenous gas sources were continuously depleting, and could not meet the winter demand. He said that the SNGPL would face a shortfall of 370 MMCFD in winter.
He said that on the SSGC's network gas supplies during the month of September, 2020 was less (993 MMCFD) than the supplies of corresponding period of 2019 (1109 MMCFD), and for winter they anticipate shortfall of up to 250 MMCFD.
The minister said that both the Sui companies were undertaking all out efforts to ensure smooth gas supply to all categories of consumers on their network especially to high-priority domestic consumers, even during winter months.
He said that in the SNGPL's network, enhanced demand of high-priority domestic sector was met through diversion of RLNG to domestic consumers.
He said that during the peak winter months some sectors might face the curtailment.
He said that in order to meet the demand of the domestic and other customers in SSGC's network some sectors i.e. CNG, captive power of general industry might face gas load curtailments and zero indigenous gas to K-Electric, who would be supplied RLNG only.
In another written reply, the National Assembly was told that Prime Minister Imran Khan along with ministers, advisors and officials had conducted a total of 25 foreign tours to various destinations since August 2018.
In written reply to a question, Minister for Foreign Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that all the ministers and officials accompanied the prime minister for discharge of their respective officials to visit various countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United States (US), Qatar, Malaysia, Iran, China, Geneva, Malaysia, Kyrgyzstan, Bahrain etc
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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