Gas closure to continue even after March 15: SNGPL

Managing Director (MD) Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) Rasheed Lon said on Friday that gas load shedding would continue even after March 15, 2011 due to demand and supply gap. "In June, gas load shedding schedule will be revised. However, the one-day gas load shedding a week will continue the whole year," Lon said while addressing a press conference along with Secretary Petroleum Imtiaz Qazi and Managing Director Sui Southern Gas Company Limited Dr Faiz Ullah Abbasi.
He said that Unaccounted for Gas (UFG) was common practice in the world. "We have more consumers and therefore facing more UFG," he said. Lon said that gas load shedding would be continued even after March 15, adding that load shedding duration would be reduced in June.
MD SSGC Dr Faiz Ullah Abbasi said that as Mashal Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project had been shelved, Board of Directors (BoDs) of SSGC had approved new initiative to import 3.5 million tons LNG by using offshore option to set up terminal that would cost $150 million. He said that SSGC BoDs had approved this new initiative that would not only be cheaper source of LNG import but it would save time.
"Private sector will be encouraged to participate in the project and government will facilitate," he said, adding that the project will be initiated through tendering and after getting certain required technical studies i-e Met Oceanic Study and Environment Impact Assessment Study (EIAS), which would take eighteen months to import the gas.
"We will be able to provide LNG in first quarter of 2013 with an off-shore option as Mashal Project has been shelved and new initiative of tendering the import of gas project is on the card, approval of which has been given by the Board of Directors (BoD) of SSGC," he added. Replying to a question, he said that many countries were using the offshore option to import LNG that was a successful story. Secretary Petroleum Imtiaz Qazi said that ''4Gas'' company that was earlier going to get the contract of LNG would also be welcomed in new initiative of LNG import.
"We have also asked Balochistan government to take ownership of fields so that drilling activities could be ensured," he said, adding that MOL Company is facing problems due to terrorist activities. He further informed that private parties had approached the government with an assurance to provide LNG in the country by the end of next year.