Efforts are being made to add an estimated 200 mmcfd gas to the system from various sources including new discoveries, abandoned fields, marginal gas and gas flares. Senior officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, state-run oil and gas companies and representatives of the Pakistan Petroleum Exploration and Production Companies Association discussed the criteria, zonal distribution and pricing of gas from these sources. They were directed by the Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Dr Asim Hussain to prepare policy guidelines to insert additional gas into the system. According to sources, the estimated domestic gas shortage has reached 1.6 billion cubic feet (BCF) per day. The current total gas production is 4.3 BFC against a total demand of 6 BCF. Sui-Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) consumers in Punjab face up to one BCF shortage of gas and the management has been forced to cut gas supply to the industrial sector of Punjab for 5 and half days a week, besides a three-day gas suspension for CNG stations.
