Gas crisis in Multan and rest of the country continued unabated widening the gap between supply and demand up to 700mmcfd (million, million cubic feet per day at country level). Intensifying shortage of gas supply has now hit over 2,500 industrial units in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and other cities and towns, where supply remain severed for the last several days.
These industrial units were facing a forced lockout, which has severely affected the production process causing difficulties in meeting the deadline of export orders rendering a large number of workers unemployed.
The domestic customers in Multan, Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and other towns are hard hit due to low pressure of gas, especially in those areas that are gripped by winter chill. People in several areas have switched over to fuel wood, which might raise an environment concern.
The Sui Northern Gas sources said that the company on the whole was short of 700 mmcfd of gas due to increasing use of heaters and geysers.
Meanwhile, gas consumers have demanded of the government immediate resolution of low pressure in gas supply and asked the government to tackle the crisis with an urgent effect.