The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet agreed that gas companies should be allowed to manage gas load on their own, while observing general priority order including curtailment programme.
The ECC which met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh also discussed various agenda items.
The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources submitted natural gas load management principles for approval of the ECC. In the backdrop of load shedding in power sector the Ministry of Water & Power had requested for enhanced gas supply to power plants on SNGPL system. It was decided that first priority order will be given to the domestic and commercial sectors while power and general industries sectors will be accorded second and third priority respectively. Whereas cement sector will be on fourth and CNG sectors will be on fifth priority. The ECC also accorded its approval to marginal/standard gas fields pricing criteria and guidelines, 2013, submitted by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources.
The guidelines provide for pricing structure applicable to the oil or gas reservoirs that cannot be exploited economically under the existing E&P Policies, pricing structure and available technologies. The ECC approved the proposal of the ministry to set the Marginal Fields Gas prices in accordance with Petroleum Exploration & Production Policy 2012 with an additional premium of $ 0.25 per MMBTU for the three zones as defined in Petroleum Exploration & Production Policy 2012.
It was also decided that the government shall have the first right to purchase pipelines specification gas from the Marginal Gas Fields at a price to be determined in accordance with the above mentioned pricing formula. Secretary Cabinet Division presented a report on implementation of the decisions taken by the ECC.
It was informed that since the induction of present democratic government in March 2008, 89 percent of the decisions taken by the ECC have been implemented while the remaining decisions are in the process of implementation.
