LAHORE:Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) here on Monday appealed to the business community to sign Re-Gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) contracts, at least for the upcoming winter period as resources of system gas were depleting with the passage of time.
“After meeting KPK’s consumption requirements, Punjab only receives about 500 MMCFD which is not enough for the domestic users. Signing an LNG contract is a viable option for the industry,” the SNGPL Senior General Manager Syed Jawad Naseem disclosed this while talking to business community during his visit to Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The LCCI President Kashif Anwar, Vice President Adnan Khalid Butt also spoke on the occasion while Executive Committee Members were also present.
He said that SNGPL, on the request of LCCI, would put up the extension in disconnection date of 31st October to the higher authorities.
The President LCCI Kashif Anwar said that Lahore Chamber would convince its members to shift to the RLNG for the upcoming winter period.
Jawad Naseem said RLNG and system gas supplied through same pipes, the industry would not need to change the equipment after shifting on to the RLNG gas, adding that the department was trying to find out a solution to the problem of difference in production, price and GIDC in Sindh and Punjab.
He said that there was no production of gas in Punjab but it had highest consumer base in terms of number of users.
“The global energy crisis spurred by the conflict in Ukraine has already affected global energy supply chain, price hike and took people to the roads around the globe due to price increases,” said SGM SNGPL and added that due to the policies of the government the rupee was stabilizing and it would reflect in the prices of energy as well.
The SGM pointed out that the domestic consumers were the top priority in terms of gas supply. All the commercial consumers including new housing societies were being shifted to the RLNG for the last five years.
He said that the winters were a challenge and commercial consumers should cooperate in this regard. He said that there were two options for commercial consumers including RLNG and LPG.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that gas in Punjab was very expensive as compared to Sindh and KPK due to which the production cost here was very high. He said that the gas should be provided at uniform rate throughout the country like electricity and POL.
Kashif Anwar said that commercial customers had been served notices that the gas supply to them would be suspended from November 1st. He said that those commercial customers, who would sign the contract by October 31, would be able to have RLNG supply otherwise the connections would be disconnected. He said that the commercial consumers had been given very little time. At least one month should be given and their legitimate demands should be considered, he added.
The LCCI President said that rate of gas for commercial consumers were too high and if RLNG was supplied to the corrugated, packaging and other industries at expensive rates, it would become difficult for the industrialists to run their businesses. He said that the new connections were being shifted to the RLNG that was directly linked with the dollar. This decision should be reviewed in the larger interest of the industry.
He said that equipment for RLNG were designed for gas which would also require replacement to shift to RLNG so the shifting should be in the phases.
He said that disruption in industrial process caused a lot of damage. In case of scheduled load-shedding of gas, the industry completed its production process but in case of unannounced load-shedding, the industries would have to bear a huge loss so unscheduled load-shedding of gas should be stopped. Moreover, the industry should be the first priority for gas supply as it was the major sources of exports, employment and revenue for the government, he argued.