ISLAMABAD: The government injected recently-imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) into the country’s gas supply network.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, told Dawn on Sunday that with this release, the prevailing gas shortage in the country would be mitigated.

The financial burden of the added cost of importing the LNG would not, the minister insisted, be transferred to domestic consumers, but would be borne by three major sectors; power plants, fertiliser manufacturers and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) pumps. CNG rates are expected to go up as a result of this move.

Read: Pakistan signs agreement with Qatar for LNG import

“We injected 170mmcfd into the system on Saturday night and the gas will reach domestic consumers and other sectors by Monday,” Mr Abbasi said.

He told Dawn that the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) would set the new price of gas for the three sectors on Monday and the price revision would take effect on April 1.

“The power sector would benefit the most because LNG is much cheaper than furnace oil, helping energy producers save around $300 million every year,” he said. “We can produce electricity at Rs10 per unit against Rs18 to Rs20 per unit on furnace oil,” he added.

Also read: Qatar LNG agreement silent on price

Pakistan is importing LNG from Qatar and the first shipment of 148,517 cubic metres (3000 mmcfd) of LNG docked at Engro’s LNG terminal on Thursday evening. By injecting 200 mmcfd into the system, the process of unloading the LNG could be completed in 15 days.

The minister said that initially, imported LNG was meant only for fertiliser and power generation only.

Talking about the import price of LNG, which has been shrouded in mystery due to the government’s silence on the issue, the minister said the price would be lower than that being charged by other countries.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2015

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