A nasty dose of gas

The argument between federal and provincial governments over inequities in natural gas supplies appears to be reaching a head. In a nutshell, Sindh produces most of the natural gas consumed in Pakistan, Punjab is the greatest consumer of the said gas and the supplier is getting a poor deal despite its constitutional entitlements. There are complexities far beyond this simplicity but it does appear that in this instance the Sindh government has every right to complain and push back against the eternal hegemony of Punjab.

Such is the level of acrimony in the current dispute that the Sindh Chief Minister (CM) has threatened to storm the offices of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), take them over and to cut the supplies of gas to the rest of the country if there is not an improvement in the supplies of gas to Sindh within the next week. Given that Sindh produces 70 per cent of the natural gas consumed nationally this is not insignificant.

Principal among the elements of the dispute is the commissioning of a new 100MW power plant in Nooriabad that is ready to function but requires gas for essential tests. The SSGC is dragging its feet and offering excuses as to why the gas is not being released for the last four months. It is also looking for a security deposit of Rs1 billion and once that is received the gas will be delivered.

Whatever the validity of the various arguments advanced by either side the ultimate losers are the people of Sindh and the businesses that could benefit from a gas connection. The latter is now at least a possibility with the lifting of the embargo on gas connections that has lasted six years (despite there being no shortage of gas at the wellhead). It is also difficult to avoid the conclusion that a large slice of politics is in play, and that the dog-in-manger position supported by the federal government in Islamabad undermines the Sindh government — currently held by the PPP let it not be forgotten — to the benefit of nobody. An outbreak of common sense would be a welcome development.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2017.

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