LAHORE: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Company (SNGPL) Managing Director Amir Tufail on Tuesday said that up to 100 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of natural gas would be added to the company system by the end of this year.

Speaking to the company’s shareholders, analysts and investors at a corporate briefing held at the Lahore Stock Exchange, Mr Tufail said concentrated efforts were underway on the part of the Petroleum Division and others concerned to achieve this objective.

He also informed the participants that SNGPL has achieved a milestone of revenue exceeding Rs1 trillion for the first time since its formation.

“With the government’s help, we are expecting the addition of up to 100mmcfd in our system by the end of this year. Amongst the discoveries, gas from Wali well has already been added to the company’s network while indigenous gas from Shewa well is likely to be injected by the end of the current year,” the SNGPL managing director said.

Highlighting the energy sector’s situation, the company management, on the occasion informed the participants that due to depleting indigenous gas resources, the RLNG, now, has 50pc (approximately) share in gas supplies which may continue to increase depending upon supply and demand situation in the country.

Sharing the company outlook, Mr Tufail said the company has been weighing in on transforming from “natural gas utility” to “energy company” over the next five years. The company aims to protect its core by implementing various initiatives; achieve excellence in business operations, grow smarter and maintain its position in the energy sector by investing in the right resources and pursuing new business opportunities.

Mr Tufail, however, admitted that the company’s profitability dipped 5.66pc mainly due to a reduction in change of ROA (return on assets) rate under weighted average cost of capital from 17.43pc to 16.6pc and imposition of super tax by the federal government.

The SNGPL’s gas losses (unaccounted for gas) have reduced from 8.60pc in FY21 to 8.06pc in FY22, he added.

Published in Dawn, August 23th, 2023