Bhit gas field closure to reduce supply

The closure of gas plant will lead to a shortfall of gas to SSGC in the range of 65 to 145 million cubic feet per day.


Express November 04, 2010

KARACHI: Just as the Zamzama field resumed its supply of natural gas on Thursday after scheduled closure for annual turnaround (ATA), the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) announced that the Bhit field will remain closed for its ATA from November 6 to 12.

The closure of the gas plant will “lead to a shortfall of gas to SSGC in the range of 65 to 145 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd),” announced a press release issued by SSGC on Thursday. “This, in turn, will affect the otherwise uninterrupted gas supply to industrial units,” added the official release.

SSGC officials expect production from Zamzama gas field to be completely restored by the time the Bhit field shuts down. “Zamzama will resume gas supply from tonight [Thursday] but about 48 hours will be required to bring production to full capacity,” SSGC Senior General Manager Zuhair Siddiqui told The Express Tribune.

“SSGC has already requested all trade associations and bodies to appeal to their member industries to voluntarily curtail gas consumption by 20 per cent to avert any major drop in pressure,” said the SSGC spokesperson.

Officials also confirmed that gas supply to the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) will remain affected till maintenance work is completed at Bhit.

More furnace oil to overcome power outages

KESC has started purchasing additional furnace oil from Pakistan State Oil (PSO) to overcome the shortage of fuel in order to generate electricity. However, conflict over the payment for these consignments seems to linger on.

“2,500 tons of furnace oil will be given every day for five days at full price,” asserted the PSO spokesperson.

KESC refuted this claim saying that it had already paid for the first consignment at the gas price and this consignment was received on Wednesday night. “A check worth Rs65 million has been accepted as payment for the consignment,” said the power distribution company’s spokesperson. “According to the understanding reached through the governor of Sindh, KESC will continue to receive additional supply till November 7.”

Published in The Express Tribune November 5th, 2010.

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