Winter season: Industries to face massive gas outages in Punjab

Shortfall expected to reach 840 million cubic feet in January.

LAHORE: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) Managing Director Arif Hameed has said that a massive gas load-shedding awaits industrial consumers in Punjab this winter as the province faces a severe gas deficit.

He, however, ruled out any sort of unscheduled outages in the future. Hameed was addressing industrialists at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday.

He said the gas shortfall in October is 390 million cubic feet (mmcf) which will increase to 500 mmcf in November, 550 in December and 840 mmcf in January.

About the upcoming Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, Hameed made it clear that it would not be fulfilling all of Pakistan’s gas needs. “Definitely, we would have to rely on liquefied natural gas to overcome the shortfall,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2011.