the imported LNG should also be given to sectors other than power and CNG, such as domestic households, textiles.
KARACHI: The beginning of construction work on a new LNG terminal in Pakistan is very welcome. With the Asian Development Bank set to approve a $30 million loan for the construction of Engro’s fast track Liquefied Natural Gas re-gasification project and the International Finance Corporation also expected to lend another $30 million, things are looking bright for Pakistan’s energy sector. LNG can be the solution to the ongoing energy crisis faced by the country.
It is the chilled form of natural gas and occupies far less space than natural gas in gaseous form, thereby making transportation and storage easier. It is also a clean-burning fuel whose combustion generates no unburned residues, particulates or soot, and releases less greenhouse gas than other fossil fuels. Its high calorific value allows latest-generation power plants to achieve high energy efficiency using co-generation or combined cycle configurations, limiting both energy consumption and atmospheric emissions. Having said this, the government should set up LNG power plants.
According to reports, LNG can generate up to 2,900 MW of electricity from the second year of its import, which in turn will reduce the import of furnace oil by as much as 11,000 tonnes per day, saving Pakistan more than half a billion dollars in foreign exchange. If the benefit of this is passed on to consumers, it could lower the power tariff from about Rs16.34 per kilowatt hour to about Rs11.34 per kilowatt hour.
According to a report published in this newspaper, the ministry of petroleum has called for allocating some liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations. Here, I would like to state that because of its transport and storage feasibility, the imported LNG should also be given to sectors other than power and CNG, such as domestic households, textiles, steel, fertilizer and cement.
Maaz Abbasi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2014.
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