LAHORE: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) will start receiving over 5,000 rotary gas meters and allied material, including electronic volume correctors (EVCs), in September, as the order has been placed with a Canadian firm.

This procurement is a crucial part of a project to significantly reduce Unaccou­nted-for Gas (UFG) or line losses. In phase 1, 1,470 meters were successfully installed at Town Border Stations (TBSs) and gas measurement facilities in five major cities: Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Mardan.

Phase 2 will involve the installation of over 5,000 meters at the remaining TBSs in all 16 regions of the company in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Fede­ral Capital, as detailed in a document obtained by Dawn.

The project aims to identify and assess losses at the micro level to control UFG by installing meters at all TBSs, covering over 150,000 kilometres of distribution network, and providing gas to 7.7 million consumers.

Meters have been installed at 22 per cent of the total TBSs. These meters detect gas pilferage and leaks in small localities and measure the quantity of gas available in pipelines and used by consumers. In case of leakages, it helps field operation teams identify such spots and fix the fault quickly.

The document indicates that the initial tender for implementing phase 2 of the project was issued on February 7 2023.

However, the company’s board instructed to reissue the tender due to receiving a single responsive bid. So, the second tender again received a single bid when it was opened on June 27. In light of this, the third tender was reissued, and ultimately, three companies — one from Canada, one from the USA, and one from China — expressed interest.

After evaluation, the contract was awarded to a Canadian firm. Similarly, after going through a bidding process, an order was also placed for EVCs to a Turkish firm. The purchase orders for procuring allied material (plus valves, flanges, fittings, dry gas filters, etc.) have already been placed, and deliveries have commenced.

According to a scheduled programme, the SNGPL will start receiving 5,223 meters (3M to 56M capacity) in a phased manner, and the first shipment of 352 meters will arrive in September.

It should be noted that the installation of 1,470 meters at TBSs under phase 1 of the project has helped the company reduce losses to 5.15pc 32,588 mmcfd in 2022-23, down from 62,627 mmcfd (8.98pc) in 2019-20.

The data related to UFG losses in 2023-24 is under auditing process.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2024