Supply of LNG to CNG stations: APCNGA opposes government move of giving contract to private firm

Sindh CNG industry has expressed its reservations over government's plan of giving contract to a private company for supplying LNG to CNG stations across the country, it emerged on Friday. Well-informed sources told Business Recorder that Ministry of Petroleum has embarked upon an 'ambitious' plan of making LNG available to the CNG sector by forwarding a summary to the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) for seeking its approval, but the initiative has been taken without consulting the CNG stakeholders.
Elaborating, the sources said that LNG would financially burden the poor people of the country as it would be sold at Rs 110 per Kg as against the CNG's price of Rs 71.5 per Kg and if the LNG was not exempted from GST its price would be Rs 135 per Kg. They said that the CNG stations as per the ECC summary will be left at the mercy of a private company.
They further said that billions of rupees of the CNG station owners deposited under the head of security with the SSGC and SNGPL will be transferred to a private company which would manage to get the contract of supplying LNG.
According to sources, the Petroleum Ministry's summary sent to the ECC for approval inter alia states: "When LNG becomes available to CNG industry, the government and its public entities will not remain responsible to supply gas to this industry." Therefore, SSGC and SNGPL will not remain responsible to supply gas to this industry, the sources added.
Chairman of All Pakistan CNG Association, Sindh, Shabbir Sulaiman-Gee said: "The current gas load-shedding and the availability of CNG through a private company are both linked up plan of the same 'script' which is aimed at `destabilising' and `sabotaging' the poor man's CNG industry." He urged the government not to introduce the poor man's back-breaking fuel, exclusively for the CNG consumers. The gas load management plan of the Sindh, as agreed with the Minister Petroleum, won't be increased at any cost, he added.
He added that on the basis of the Article 158 of the Constitution, the Sindh High Court through its order had strictly prohibited closure of CNG stations in Sindh. Being the gas-producing province it was Sindh's constitutional right to get gas on priority over other provinces. In this regard, he accused the SSGC of flouting the court's orders.
He said that continuous gas load-shedding will compel thousands of transporters and common people, who have invested billions of rupees on the conversion four million vehicles into CNG, to sell their vehicles at a throw away price. He demanded that a committee, comprising stakeholders from Sindh and representatives of Ministry of Petroleum, be set up without any delay to help resolve the issues being confronted by the CNG industry before October 10, or else the industry would have a no choice but to launch a protest to seek justice.