Azam Sufi assumes charge as MD of Pakistan LNG Terminal Limited

Azam Sufi has taken over charge of his new appointment as the Managing Director (MD) of the newly created Pakistan LNG Terminal Limited (PLTL). According to Petroleum Ministry officials to deal with the import, transmission and distribution of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) the government established PLTL and appointed Azam Sufi as the first MD of the company.
The government plans to replace oil based power plants with imported gas for efficient use of power plants and producing clean energy for which two LNG pipelines are planned: Karachi-Lahore LNG pipeline with a capacity to transport 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) of imported LNG and Gwadar-Nawabshah pipeline also with the same capacity.
At present, the country is facing 2 BCFD gas shortfall due to rising demand whereas local gas production has remained static at 4 BCFD for the last 10 years. To address the gas shortage successive governments have been working on gas pipeline projects including Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and Iran-Pakistan (IP). According to officials the government in collaboration with China is also working to set up LNG terminals at Gwadar port with a capacity to handle up to 1.2 BCFD of imported gas.
The government wants to run Punjab based under construction power plants with a capacity to generate 3,600 Megawatts (MW) of electricity on LNG for which it has allowed Pakistan GasPort Limited consortium - which includes Fauji Oil Terminal and Distribution Company Limited (FOTCO) - to set up a second LNG import terminal at Port Qasim in Karachi.
Official said that to minimise power load-shedding for all the segments of the economy the government has formulated a strategy to provide sustainable and credible fuel supply to power plants and the second LNG terminal was part of the Sharif administration's sustainable fuel supply strategy.
He said three LNG power plants with 1200MW generation capacity each were being set up. Petroleum Ministry had given an undertaking to Power Ministry to provide 200 mmcfd LNG to each plant. Official said the government was working on a three pronged strategy: setting up LNG terminals, LNG based power plants and augmenting pipeline network to transport gas. At present, existing gas pipeline network has the capacity to transport 400MMCFD of LNG, while the government has plans to take it to 2.4 BCFD mark within the next two years.
Gas utilities, Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) have started enhancing pipeline capacity by laying 42-inch pipelines from Karachi to Lahore to gradually increase this capacity to 1,200 mmcfd. While another gas pipeline from Gwadar to Nawabshah with the same capacity is under consideration which is likely to be built by the Chinese government nominated companies.