KARACHI: The Sui Sou­thern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) on Wednesday announced the completion of Annual Turnaround (ATA) of the upstream Kunnar-Pasakhi Deep (KPD) gas field and it will now be in a position to resume normal gas supply to consumers.

“Now back online, KPD is currently providing 100 mmcfd to SSGCL and would gradually ramp up its volume till July 7 when it would start supplying the full quantum of the normal 177 mmcfd gas,” SSGCL said in a statement.

The closure of KPD has caused considerable inconvenience to the customers.

To ensure sustained future supplies of natural gas, the company said that it has implemented the Government’s Gas Load Management Plan of 2018 in which domestic and commercial customers are given top priority in the provision of gas followed by other sectors.

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Wednesday said that industrialists have voluntarily agreed not to use gas one day in a week in their factories while they will get the gas with full pressure for the rest of six days.

A press release issued from the Governor House said the decision was taken during a meeting of the Sindh Industrial Liaison Committee (SILC) which was attended by the representative of Ministry of Energy and officials of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL).

President North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (NKATI) Faisal Moiz Khan said industrialists have decided to face the gas crisis under a joint strategy with the SSGCL. All seven industrial zones will not use gas in their factories one-day a week as a gas holiday, while industries will get gas with full pressure for six days so that the shortage of gas can be overcome and industrial production can continue unabated.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2021