LNG need of the hour

Pakistan is facing gas shortage of over 2.5 billion cubic feet and many industries depend on gas for production activities not to mention the consumption in the domestic sector. A quick solution to curb the gas crisis, Pakistan turned to LNG to fulfil its needs. According to media reports, the first LNG terminal in Pakistan which has the capacity to re-gasify 600-630mmcfd gas was commissioned in 2013. This was a great initiative by the government because LNG import has saved billions of dollars when it replaced furnace oil in power production. It has also impacted the fertilizer industry positively. In fact, the fertilizer industry has gotten such a boost that Pakistan has gone from importing urea to an industry capable of exporting urea in the last few years also contributing to the country's GDP.
The CNG industry seems to have started flourishing once again in Punjab which was also shut due to lack of sufficient gas provision. Textile sector has always been one of the major contributors to the national exchequer is another gas-starved industry, which also started doing well with over hundreds of units revived. Domestic consumers have been facing worst gas-shedding for many years in the winter season will now be able to acquire locally-produced gas as according to another report, ECC is likely to allocate gas to the domestic sector. So, LNG import has been a positive measure towards eradicating energy crisis in Pakistan. The move is lauded and it is suggested that more LNG terminals are needed for an increase in demand of LNG can be seen in the future because of depleting gas reserves of the country.