KARACHI: Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) filling stations will reopen across the province on Saturday following an assurance by the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) to restore the supply of gas.
The development comes in the wake of Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan’s meeting with SSGC officials.
The officials assured the minister of the restoration of gas supply to CNG stations across the province, including Karachi. The minister said the public faced great difficulty owing to the closure of CNG stations.
The SSGC had announced earlier this week it was suspending gas supply to CNG stations and captive power plants of all general industries for an “indefinite period of time.”
It said it was facing an acute shortage of gas and low pressure in the system. The SSGC spokesperson, however, had assured that all household consumers will receive gas at all costs, however, after fixing technical faults at the field, the CNG sector and industries will be supplied gas by the gas company.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan warned that those responsible for the gas crisis will not be spared at any cost. He directed the relevant authorities to resolve the gas crisis at the earliest.
He ordered the removal of the board of directors of the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) over the crisis.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday suspended the SNGPL and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) board of directors in wake of the gas crisis that has paralysed life across the country.
On Wednesday, the premier had ordered an investigation against the managing directors of the two gas companies.
The prime minister had also ordered the constitution of a fact-finding committee to conduct an inquiry against the managing directors. The report of the committee will be submitted in 72 hours. The committee is headed by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Chairperson Uzma Adil Khan and comprises Qazi Saleem Siddiqui, Shahid Yousaf and Imran Ahmed.
PM Imran had ordered an inquiry against the two MDs of both state-owned gas companies following a briefing by petroleum minister on the issue. The PM, however, had instructed to strengthen the planning for meeting the gas demand and supply and ensure no such situation resurfaces again in the future.
