ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Energy on Tuesday said that the foreign experts, who visited in 2021 to examine the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) installed at the Engro’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal, declared that the facility was ‘irreparable’ in Pakistan.
In a news release, the ministry’s spokesman said the major loss in the energy sector occurred due to the installation of a used FSRU at a new terminal, which would have to be closed down for at least seven days for its maintenance.
He said the used FSRU, manufactured in 2009, was installed by the previous government at the Engro’s terminal in 2015 after its overhauling.
It was pertinent to note that even the new FSRU required overhauling twice in 15 years period, he added.
The spokesman said the country had to import 70 per cent of the LNG on expensive rate due to long-term agreements signed by the previous government for 15 years.
He added that only 30 per cent of the total imported commodity was being procured on the spot whose prices fluctuated at the international market on regular basis.
The spokesman said therefore, it was wrong to say that the present government was importing the LNG on exorbitant rates, because 70 per cent of the total imported commodity was being purchased on the rates agreed by those [Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz ]who were peddling baseless propaganda in that regard.
He clarified that if some power plants were being run on furnace oil or diesel, it was due to scarcity of water in the Tarbela dam which caused a shortage of 3500-megawatt electricity in the national grid.