Pakistan has not struck any deal with Qatar to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on long-term basis as yet. "No long-term LNG deal has been signed with Qatar as yet and there was no truth in those rumours and reports following minister's visit abroad," remarked Secretary Petroleum and Natural Resource Arshad Mirza when asked about the LNG project.
The Secretary said the minister was abroad to address some other matters, and assured the government was taking concrete measures to offset energy shortfall. Another official of the Ministry said since the government was fully aware of growing energy needs with gas demand swelling to over six billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd) and depleting hydrocarbon resources, a multi-pronged strategy was being pursued to tackle the energy shortage in the country.
He said the government had to work out the issues for import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to meet energy needs besides opting for long-term projects such as Pakistan-Iran gas pipelines, TAPI projects and many measures on domestic front. Replying to a question, he said the major gas reserves of the country are depleting fast, necessitating the exploration of more options and resources to meet the country's gas demand.
He said geo-political situation did affect the ambitious transnational projects including Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline and the TAPI project. Elaborating the point, he said the government was fully geared up to jumpstart work on the project and get 750 mmcfd per day, once sanctions on Iran were either relaxed or lifted altogether. Similarly, a ground-breaking ceremony for Turkeminstation-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipelines project is expected to take place in December, reflecting how government's efforts are yielding results, he added. Answering a question, the official said refining industry was not performing optimally with all of them going outdated and were operating at low capacity, resulting in additional import of petroleum products.
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