ISLAMABAD – Following the introduction of ease-of-doing-business strategyby the government, as many as five private sector companies were planningto set up Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals, having the capacity tore-gasify 500-700 Million Cubic Feet per day (MMCFD) gas each.
“We do believe the LNG is here to stay, but we have decided that thissector has to be completely opened up. So, the government has allowed allfive companies that wanted to set up their own terminals in Pakistan,” asenior official privy to petroleum sector developments said.
He said it was not the government job to decide who had the muscle, marketclout and power to succeed. “It is for the market to decide.”
The official said the government’s footprint in the coming years in theenergy, as well as other sectors, was going to shrink. “It is not only thegovernment’s stated policy but fervent desire and intention.”
He said the government was going to do major restructuring on the pipelinesside by converting them into ‘open access pipes’ and during the next twoyears, “We intend to separate the transmission from distribution and openup the sector for use through private supplies and open access. Let theprivate sector compete with government distribution companies and let themrun faster and become more efficient.”
He said private sector companies including Exxon, Shell, and Mitsubishibesides Spanish and French firms were poised to establish LNG terminals inPakistan, who were considered the world-leading players in the energysector.
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The official said the federal cabinet had recently cleared the privatesector companies, adding “A terminal, as per international standard, takesalmost two years to complete once its construction starts.”
Currently, the official said, two LNG terminals were operating at PortQasim Karachi and injecting around 1200 MMCFD gas in the distributionnetwork, adding the capacity of Floating Storage and Re-gasification Units(FSRUs) was also being increased.
He said the Petroleum Division had planned to bring an additional 400 MMCFDLNG in the system by December, out of which “200 MMCFD is guaranteed astender had already been floated to ensure transparency.”
The LNG, he said, was considered the only available instant-option to meetthe country’s ever-growing energy needs, as currently, domestic productionof gas was around four Billion Cubic Feet per Day (BCFD) against the demandof 7-8 BCFD. “There is a 50 percent gas shortfall in the energy mix needsof the country.”
