Panel recommends increasing quota of new gas connections
Move comes amid large number of pending requests
A service truck drives past and oil well. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
With elections around the corner, a parliamentary panel recommended on Monday increasing the quota of issuing new domestic gas connections up to 1 million per year.
The committee met under the chairmanship of MNA Chaudhry Bilal Ahmad Virk at the Parliament House.
Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also informed the panel that LNG is available to domestic consumers at a rate cheaper than that of LPG. Briefing the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Petroleum, he said that the LNG price for domestic consumers will be lower than the prices of alternative fuels.
Govt to set up over 60 LPG plants
He said the price of LNG for domestic consumers is Rs750 per mmbtu as compared to home-reach price of LPG at Rs2,000 per mmbtu and natural gas at Rs120 per unit.
Meanwhile, the decision to enhance gas connections came in the wake of a large number of pending requests with the gas distribution companies. The committee was apprised that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had allowed 0.5 million new domestic gas connections to the gas distribution companies per year; however, due to huge number of pendency, the companies were unable to meet the demand.
The committee was further apprised that 200 connections were allowed to be provided to new localities. However, parliamentarians demanded to increase the number to 500 connections.
The representative of Ogra informed the committee that the regulatory authority has no objection on the increase as recommended by the committee, if the gas companies have the capacity to carry out the task.
Construction of TAPI pipeline to begin within a year: report
Earlier, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) Managing Director Amjad Latif said that the company would provide 2 million new gas connections in the next two years.
An official of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) said that the management has introduced new technology, which not only controlled 5% gas production decline annually at Sui Gas reservoir but also helped increase volume of gas production to 6% annually. He said that 90% gas at Sui has been consumed.
The committee, while discussing the performance of Pakistan State Oil (PSO), directed it to aggressively pursue measures to realise its recoverables from government departments.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2017.
With elections around the corner, a parliamentary panel recommended on Monday increasing the quota of issuing new domestic gas connections up to 1 million per year.
The committee met under the chairmanship of MNA Chaudhry Bilal Ahmad Virk at the Parliament House.
Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also informed the panel that LNG is available to domestic consumers at a rate cheaper than that of LPG. Briefing the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Petroleum, he said that the LNG price for domestic consumers will be lower than the prices of alternative fuels.
Govt to set up over 60 LPG plants
He said the price of LNG for domestic consumers is Rs750 per mmbtu as compared to home-reach price of LPG at Rs2,000 per mmbtu and natural gas at Rs120 per unit.
Meanwhile, the decision to enhance gas connections came in the wake of a large number of pending requests with the gas distribution companies. The committee was apprised that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had allowed 0.5 million new domestic gas connections to the gas distribution companies per year; however, due to huge number of pendency, the companies were unable to meet the demand.
The committee was further apprised that 200 connections were allowed to be provided to new localities. However, parliamentarians demanded to increase the number to 500 connections.
The representative of Ogra informed the committee that the regulatory authority has no objection on the increase as recommended by the committee, if the gas companies have the capacity to carry out the task.
Construction of TAPI pipeline to begin within a year: report
Earlier, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) Managing Director Amjad Latif said that the company would provide 2 million new gas connections in the next two years.
An official of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) said that the management has introduced new technology, which not only controlled 5% gas production decline annually at Sui Gas reservoir but also helped increase volume of gas production to 6% annually. He said that 90% gas at Sui has been consumed.
The committee, while discussing the performance of Pakistan State Oil (PSO), directed it to aggressively pursue measures to realise its recoverables from government departments.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 11th, 2017.