Call for more investment in gas sector to ease energy crunch

A research study has called for more investment to explore new gas reserves as the country grapples with the worst energy crisis in decades.

The latest research study on the “gas crisis in Pakistan" conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), Quaid-e-Azam University, has also recommended encouraging the private sector to tap gas reserves and doing away with political interference and selectivism in the provision of gas to domestic consumers.

It said that gas is the third-largest energy source consumed around the world, however, Pakistan has less than a one per cent share in world gas consumption. It said that Pakistan meets its energy demand through imported and indigenous resources in the ratio of 44:56. Natural gas and imported LNG contributed more than 40 per cent to the country's current energy mix, including gas resources used in electricity generation, it said.

“In recent years, the demand for gas has increased rapidly in Pakistan. However, gas exploration and production have declined, and the LNG operational and regulatory framework is weak, leading to a nationwide shortage and increased supply costs,” the latest research brief said.

According to a press release issued from the PIDE, a national think tank of the country, it stated that in upstream, 15 gas explorations and production companies work in 55 gas fields spread throughout the country.

“The gas distribution and transmission are mainly owned and operated by two state-owned companies Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL).

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2022.