One week deadline has been given by ministry of petroleum and natural resources to the dealers of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations to ensure safety of CNG cylinders. The announcement has come following a ban that is scheduled to be imposed on use of CNG in public sector transport in case of failing to meet deadline. Ministry of petroleum would issue directions to concerned departments and communicate provinces to facilitate conducting test of CNG cylinders to ensure safety of the people. Secretary Petroleum Ijaz Chaudhry issued these directions while presiding over a high level meeting to review the safety measures in CNG fitted public services vehicles. The meeting was attended by Ghyas Abdullah Paracha, Central Chairman All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) officials. During the meeting, secretary petroleum expressed concerns over incidents of CNG cylinder blasts. He said ministry had already taken serious notice of these CNG incidents. CNG association, being an important stakeholder should work hand in hand with government to facilitate the implementation of CNG safety measures. The regulatory OGRA has already proposed a ban on public transport vehicles including wagons, buses and coasters due to lost of lives in incidents and shortage of gas. Representatives of CNG association agreed to conduct mass awareness campaign in print media informing CNG consumers to conduct safety testing of their CNG kits and cylinders.
