ISLAMABAD – The government has directed the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) to complete the tendering process for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imports by June 30 this year so that the actual supplies could start from March 2013. An official source at the Ministry of Petroleum said the instructions had been given to the SSGC considering the fact that the consumption was growing at a rate of seven percent per annum. “If steps for timely imports are not taken, the energy crisis might further slow down the economy that is at present loosing out two percent of the GDP growth per annum.”
SSGC has been instructed to complete the environment impact assessment report by June. The company would be inviting tenders for LNG imports within the next few days in which previously short listed companies and new ones could participate.
“We have given these instructions, as the government wants to expedite LNG imports. We are even open to private sector imports as the public sector alone could not meet the rising energy demand,” he said. Pakistan plans to import three million tonnes of LNG per year in the short term (six-year period), roughly equivalent to 500MCFD of natural gas, but plans to enhance it up to seven million tonnes per year for 20 years.
