Imran Maniar, the Managing Director of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), has outlined plans to address the challenges faced by the company in meeting the country’s gas requirements over the next five years.
During a media briefing at the SSGC headquarters, he emphasized the need for urgent action on tight gas and coal gasification projects.
Currently, the SSGC system has 720 MMCFD of gas available, with an additional 120 MMCFD of RLNG (regasified liquefied natural gas). However, due to the lack of new gas reserves and the continuous increase in demand, Sindh and Balochistan are experiencing a consistent decrease in available gas. To address this issue, the gas supply in the SSGC system will be reduced from 720 MMCFD to 500 MMCFD over the next five years.
Imran Maniar highlighted the measures taken by SSGC to mitigate gas transmission losses and theft, which have been reduced to 6 percent comparing 14 percent in Karachi in the past year. This reduction is expected to save the national exchequer Rs 5 to 6 billion annually. However, efforts to address higher transmission losses in Balochistan are ongoing, with the region currently incurring an annual loss of over Rs 24 billion due to gas theft.
Regarding future projects, Imran Maniar stressed the importance of initiating tight gas and coal gasification projects to increase domestic gas production. These initiatives aim to save over US $2 billion annually in LNG imports. He also discussed ongoing discussions with the government of Sindh regarding the acquisition of land at Port Qasim to address the steel mill’s obligations.
Imran Maniar advised consumers to use gas cautiously to remain on the protected consumer list, particularly in light of recent increases in electricity and gas rates. He emphasized that local gas production in the future can ensure uninterrupted and affordable gas supply to consumers.
Overall, the outlined plans aim to address the challenges faced by SSGC in meeting the country’s gas requirements and ensure a sustainable and reliable gas supply for consumers in the coming years.