Abbasi hinta at increase in gas prices

Federal Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Monday said gas prices would have to be increased otherwise it would face the same fate as was happening with the power sector. In an interview, the minister said the government is considering to raise the gas prices. He said it was also in the knowledge of the government that SNGPL and SSGPL were involved in theft of gas and that was why heads of fourteen companies were being removed and their board of directors being dissolved.
The minister made it clear that the Ministry would not run the gas companies but board of directors would be responsible to run their affairs.
Abbasi disclosed that gas worth Rs 28 to Rs 30 billion was being stolen every year from the system. These include technical and transmission losses. He said while arrangements are being made to control the technical and transmission losses, an across the board operation is in progress throughout the country against those involved in theft of gas. He said arrangements have been finalized to import 1500mmcfdl CNG by the end of 2014 to overcome gas shortage. He said three projects are at hand for the import of LNG. He said if this quantity of gas was available by the end of next year, there would be no need to wind up the LNG sector.
Asked about the LNG cartel and increase in the prices of the commodity, the minister said a draft for the new LPG policy has been sent to OGRA to control unchecked profit being earned by the LGP sector. He clarified that so far no agreement has been reached with Qatar for the import of LNG and its price. He said the Qatari government has asked Pakistan to first build the terminal. He said tender for the building of LNG terminal would be released next week. He said contract would be awarded to the company which has the facility of jetty so that it could deliver the gas through shipyard. He expressed the confidence that LNG import would start within six to nine months after the award of the contract. Abbasi said the agreement with Qatar would be for ten years for the delivery of 1.4 million tonnes of LNG. He said had the previous governments paid attention to energy crisis, the country would have saved $500 million to $700 million annually. Now when the country is facing gas shortage, several projects are in hand for the import and exploration of new gas reserves.