Annual maintenance : Gas supply from Bhit field to drop by 60%

SSGC asks industrial sector to cut consumption by 20%.

KARACHI:

Bhit field, which supplies 345 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas to the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), will reduce supply by an average 60 per cent on account of annual maintenance from April 11, SSGC announced on Monday.

The supply curtailment will continue for 24 days till May 4. Initially, Bhit field operators had planned a 100 per cent shutdown, but SSGC said that after several meetings it was able to persuade ENI, the Italian operator of the field, to maintain supplies through at least one production train, ensuring 40 per cent supply during annual turnaround (ATA).

SSGC said that ATA will directly hurt and reduce the company’s capacity to meet normal gas requirements. Consequently, three bulk customers, the Water and Power Development Authority, Fauji Fertiliser Company and the Karachi Electric Supply Company, are likely to be most affected due to the supply cuts.

SSGC, which purchases natural gas from multiple exploration and production companies, said it has already written letters to the three customers, informing them about a substantial reduction in usual gas supplies due to the annual maintenance at Bhit.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2011.