LAHORE: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Petroleum Division Nadeem Babar has admitted that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is on top in gas theft and hence the major cause of increase in technical and commercial line losses of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL).

“This is true that KP leads in gas theft. Massive gas theft takes place from Hangu and Karak sections of the pipeline. These are gas-producing areas and the people living there are stealing gas since they consider this their right,” he said when asked why the PTI-led KP government had not helped the federal government and the SNGPL in the past in stopping massive gas theft.

“However, we are trying to convince these people not to steal gas and come under the legal gas supply network of the company,” Mr Babar added.

“We will execute some infrastructure development projects in these districts for providing legal gas connections and upgrade social status of the locals. The KP government will soon fulfil its commitment of contributing funds for launching these projects,” he said while speaking at a press conference at the SNGPL headquarters here on Friday.

Mr Babar claimed that the SNGPL’s technical and commercial losses, called unaccounted for gas (UFG), had been reduced, particularly in the context of industrial consumers. And it happened just because of regular monitoring of as many as 4,500 industrial connections. “Due to inspection, the company’s UFG losses (industrial) have reduced to only one and half per cent,” the special assistant said.

He said that the SNGPL was the biggest gas company of the country with 6.5 million consumers and its line losses were reducing gradually. Besides taking steps to stop gas theft, the company was also working on a project to replace old pipelines and plug leakage, he added.

Mr Babar said that the company had started preparations for winter by devising a plan for creating awareness among the consumers regarding the use of old geezers, loss of gas, calculation of bills and tariff slabs.

He said that five international firms had applied for setting up liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Karachi and Balochistan. He said the SNGPL had started awarding contracts for gas exploration blocks to interested firms.

He dispelled the impression that gas tariff had been increased on the instructions of the International Monetary Fund, saying, “The IMF didn’t advise us to increase the tariff but it asked us to control/reduce the gas circular debt of Rs168 billion.”

The SNGPL managing director and the petroleum division’s additional secretary accompanied Mr Babar at the press conference.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2019