Ministry agrees to end gas curtailment

The federal government has agreed to revise gas curtailment to fertiliser industry.

The federal government has agreed that gas curtailment to the fertiliser industry needs to be revised and that the restriction on gas supply should end as per the schedule announced earlier.

A meeting was chaired by the Minister for Industries and Production Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani held on the appeal of the fertiliser industry to discuss restoration of gas supply.

The meeting was told that the scheduled date of July 31, till which gas cuts had been announced, has passed and the water situation has also improved.

During the meeting, it was agreed that immediate action needs to be taken on diverting idle gas from Kandhkot and Mari to Guddu power plant instead of limiting supply to the fertiliser industry.

Industry representatives also pointed out that by revamping Guddu the same amount of power could be generated with much less gas.

It was stressed that Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) imports must be allowed since Pakistan’s gas reserves are insufficient to cater to rising demand. It was also noted that LNG prices in international markets are quite low.

The meeting was attended by high-ranking government officials as well as representatives of the fertiliser industry. Another meeting will be convened next week so that industry representatives can meet the heads of those ministries that also have a stake in the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2010.