Petroleum ministry takes notice of LPG shortage

Seeks immediate report from managing director of SSGC LPG

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Petroleum has taken notice of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shortage ahead of Ramazan after two gas-carrying vessels returned without offloading the cargo.

In a letter sent to the managing director of SSGC LPG, a subsidiary of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), the petroleum ministry issued directives to look into the matter and present a report immediately.

The move came after the ministry received a letter from the Pakistan LPG Chamber, which complained that SSGC LPG was hampering imports in order to create LPG shortage just before Ramazan, when demand goes up.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, FPCCI's LPG Standing Committee Regional Chairman Irfan Khokhar said SSGC LPG - a state-owned LPG terminal company - had refused to entertain two ships carrying 11,900 tons of LPG within a week, resulting in a cumulative loss of Rs40 million to the national exchequer.

He said the LPG terminal company charged $32 per ton, hence it caused a loss of millions of rupees to the national exchequer.

LPG demand stands in the range of 3,000 to 3,500 tons per day and it jumps to 7,000 tons in Ramazan.

"Bureaucratic tactics of the terminal company will cause shortage of the product due to blocking of LPG imports and will lead to price increase," Khokhar added.

He said despite government's efforts to enhance LPG supply through imports, there was a conspiracy to create artificial shortage by hindering imports.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2017.

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