The gas crisis in the country has intensified as gas is not available for cooking in different cities of Pakistan including Karachi. On the other, the government has closed CNG stations and non-manufacturing industries to meet the demand of domestic consumers. Despite this, gas is not being supplied to the houses while Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry says that gas is getting reduced by 9 percent every year and the country will run out of gas in the next few years.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the domestic gas production in the country in 2017-18 was 1458935 MMCFT which is continuously declining and it is 962397 MMCFT till last financial year. Due to the decline in domestic production, gas continues to be imported from abroad, which so far meets 23% of the country’s demand.
Pakistan’s current daily gas production is 4300 million cubic feet (MMCFD) which decreases to 3300 million MMCFD in winter while demand is 6500 to 7000 million cubic feet which increase to 8000 million cubic feet in winter and thus people face a shortage of 4,000 to 5,000 million cubic feet of gas.
We have two RLNG terminals at Port Qasim Karachi for conversion of imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) installed by Engro and Pakistan Gas Port, according to which the government is requesting 10 to 12 LNG cargo from which 1200 mm. CFD gas is being obtained while gas shortage is four times more than that.
It is a fact that in the last few years the demand for gas in the country has exceeded the supply due to the decline in local gas production and that is why Pakistan had to import gas in 2015. According to experts in the gas sector, Pakistan needs 4 billion cubic feet per day, of which 2.8 billion cubic feet are produced from local sources and 1.2 billion cubic feet are imported.
Experts in the gas sector have expressed concern over the escalation of the gas crisis due to the government’s failure to make timely plans and decisions. One of the major reasons for the gas shortage in the current season is global prices. Tenders for imported gas had to be canceled. Gas prices have skyrocketed worldwide due to coronavirus and Pakistan being reluctant to buy gas at exorbitant prices in the spot cargo agreement. According to experts, there is a shortage of gas in the country, and in the next two months, the situation can become more severe.
If the government had made deals for LNG before the onset of winter, there would not have been a crisis, as acknowledged by Finance Advisor Shaukat Tarin, and now that Pakistan’s gas reserves are dwindling rapidly and we are dependent on imports. If it can increase, then there is a need for Pakistan to come up with a long-term plan to overcome the gas crisis and find a permanent solution to the recurring gas crisis in the country.
