KARACHI, Dec 22: The gas supply from Miano to the distribution system of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has been delayed for the second time as some foreign operators of the Austrian company OMV are yet to land in Pakistan.
The initial gas supply of 30 mmcfd from the field near Sukkur, which was due to be linked with the distribution system of the SSGC from October, had been postponed due to sudden departure of foreign staff in September. The supply would gradually be increased to 87 mmcfd.
However, some operators of OMV Austria had returned in October and the distribution was scheduled to be started from November 15 but it had again been put off due to recent events in Afghanistan and the region.
“The gas supply is now expected to commence from February 15, 2002,” a senior executive in the SSGC told Dawn, adding that his company has been intimated verbally by the officials of the OMV Austria, based in Islamabad.
As a result of this delay, SSGC has to suspend gas supply of around 20 mmcfd to the cement industry this month in order to meet the increasing demand of gas for general consumers in winter particularly in the Northern Areas, the official said.
Besides, he said, gas supplies to KESC’s Bin Qasim Power Station has also been partially affected. Majority of power generating units at Bin Qasim have already been converted to gas.
“The company is facing difficulties in managing rising winter demand of gas due to delay in gas supplies from the Miano field,” the SSGC official added.
Post-September 11 incidents have led to departure of a large number of foreign nationals working in various governments and private projects. Some of them have resumed their jobs while others are still reluctant to return due to uncertain situation.
The sale and purchase agreement with Miano Joint Venture was signed in November 1999 for supply of 87 mmcfd. If supply of gas from Miano started this year, it would have been the second new gas field after Zamzama in Sindh, operated by a joint venture led by Australia’s BHP Ltd, which had already started pumping 70 mmcfd of gas into the pipeline in April 2001.
Gas availability will increase when supply of 120 mmcfd from Sawan and 220 mmcfd from Bhit will start by end of 2002, making a total of 500 mmcfd of gas from new discoveries, the official said adding that the gas demand was expected to increase to 3.561 billion cubic feet per day up to 2005, which would reach up to 3.868 billion cubic feet per day by 2010.