Mansoor Sadiq

Once more, a severe gas crisis looms large on the horizon with the arrival of winter season, as the authorities concerned have failed to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to meet the national requirements, reports WealthPK. For the last few years, the business community and industry have been voicing for concrete measures by the government to overcome gas and energy shortages, especially in the winter, on a permanent basis but it has not yet come up with a permanent solution.

When WealthPK contacted Vice President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Muhammad Haris Agar and asked him about gas shortage for the industries, he said the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) had already curtailed supply to the industries in Karachi. He said last week, they received a notice from the SSGC about suspension of gas to the industries in Karachi to ensure supply to domestic consumers in Sindh and Balochistan.

Haris said at a time when the government has made no other special arrangements to provide RLNG, closure of gas supply will multiply their problems due to which they won’t be able to meet the export orders. With the closure of industries, thousands of workers will be rendered unemployed, he said, adding that in the absence of steady gas supply, the industrial sector is not expected to boost exports and compete with India and Bangladesh.

“We have the capability to boost exports but this is linked with the availability of gas. Various exporters in Karachi have started buying tonnes of wood for their factories, while 40 percent of industrial units in Karachi have closed their operations, rendering thousands of workers jobless,” said Haris. He said the government did not make appropriate arrangements to import LNG for consumers in the winter season. To import LNG, the Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) has issued tenders but failed to attract bidders on account of exorbitant prices for the winter season in the global market, he added.

Gas shortage might increase in the coming months, as the Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) tasked with importing LNG has failed to attract bidders to meet the country’s gas requirements. Meanwhile, according to the Petroleum Division officials, there is shortage of LNG in the global market due to Russia-Ukraine war and the prevailing mayhem is likely to continue in the coming few years. It was disclosed that Pakistan has signed LNG contracts with Qatar and Italian Energy Company Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi (ENI) but the latter was unable to provide some cargoes as per schedule.

It has also been learned that in view of the rising demand for LPG, the former government had decided to restart the JJVL operations for production of LPG in the country but the JJVL could not start the operations after which it approached Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.  Asad Mehmood, energy efficiency and renewable energy expert, opined that mismanaged and ill-planned gas priority chart is the root cause of all economic woes the country is currently facing. He said the government prioritises the domestic users for gas supply instead of the industries, which is practiced nowhere except in Pakistan.

He disclosed that 29 percent of the country’s population has access to gas, while the rest of 71 percent uses other sources to meet their energy needs. He said consuming gas for domestic purposes is like burning silver to make bread. ‘’Pakistan needs to prioritise its industrial sector instead of domestic users for gas consumption. In Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, the domestic users are not provided with gas but the cylinders.

Talking to WealthPK, Member Executive of All Pakistan Cement Manufactures Association Muhammad Kashif said gas shortage during the winter season has become a routine issue in the last couple of years, but the government has not yet introduced any long-term policy to resolve this challenge on a permanent basis. New drillings for gas exploration have not succeeded on account of multiple reasons, he added. Kashif said there is a need to separate politics from economics, adding that gas, infrastructure and energy issues should be purged from politics.

He said the national energy resources are depleting with each passing year requiring a concrete mechanism and its implementation in letter and spirit. Dr. Sajjad Arshad, Senior Vice President of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FCCI), said gas and electricity are like raw materials for the textile sector. 70 percent of the textile industry in Faisalabad has closed down following the increase in rates of electricity and unavailability of gas. ‘’It is ironic that the government has no valid statistics to identify which sector consumes and requires how much gas on commercial grounds in Punjab,” he added.

President of All Karachi Industrial Alliance Mian Zahid Hussein said more than 50 percent of energy needs in Pakistan are met through gas. Power sector is a major consumer of gas, followed by the domestic consumers, industries, and fertilizers. He suggested that the government should encourage the private sector to meet the country’s energy requirements. On the other hand, domestic consumers in different parts of the country also have painful tales to tell about the low gas pressure and unavailability of gas during the morning and evening. The gravity of the situation demands that the government should take effective alternative mechanisms to resolve the gas and energy crisis on a permanent basis.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk