LNG to be supplied to Company's franchise areas soon

KARACHI: The Acting Managing Director of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Amin Rajput, has said that LNG is the fuel of the future and its availability is indispensable to bridge the demand-supply gap of natural gas as well as overcoming energy crisis in the country.

In this regard, he added, SSGC has developed the requisite pipeline infrastructure for transmitting RLNG volumes to the consumption nodes in the northern part of the country.

He was talking to members of the Landhi Association of Trade and Industry (LATI), says a SSGC statement here on Saturday.

It said that in a reply to a query about supply of RLNG to the industries in Sindh, the AMD SSGC said that in near future, once RLNG is supplied to the industries in the Company's franchise provinces, a weekly closure of gas will end permanently.

On the issue of natural gas theft, Rajput reiterated that there is zero tolerance on gas theft as it impacts severely on SSGC's financial bottom line, which is one of the main causes of lines losses or UFG.

The meeting held in SSGC House at Karachi. Saeed Larik, ASGM (Distribution - North), Brigadier (R) Mohammad Abuzar, DG, Security Services and Control Gas Theft Operations (SS & CGTO), Shehryar Kazmi, GM (Billing, Kamran Nagi, GM/in-charge ( Distribution- South) and Major (R) Muhammad Hussain, DGM (Coordination) were also present during the meeting.

The LATI team consisting on Islamudin M. Zafar, President LATI, Mubeen Khan, General Secretary LATI and members M. Kamran Farukh and Kaleem Qureshi expressed their satisfaction over increase of gas pressure being supplied to the industrial area and services provided to them by SSGC.

LATI team demanded to revert the decision to end Sunday closure of gas supplies to the industries as it affects their production.

Responding to the demand regarding the Sunday closure, AMD, SSGC said that Sunday closure were only observed to maintain pressure in the system for the rest of days in a week. As soon as supply of gas from different gas fields is improved the gas supply to industries and captive sector on Sundays can be continued.

Coming Sunday the gas closure will not be observed as the supplies during the week remained improved. Further, AMD added that continued supply of gas depends upon the pressure as the winter season is just around the corner.

Brigadier (R) Mohammad Abuzar, DG of SSGC's newly established SS and CGTO Department, dilated on various sections of the Gas (Theft and Recovery) Act, 2016 that was passed by the National Assembly.

The Act, he said, calls for penalizing offenders involved in gas theft and related crimes by imposing imprisonment up to 14 years and fine up to Rs. 10 million.

Brigadier (R) Abuzar said that the approval of Gas Act, formation of gas utility courts for prosecuting gas thieves in Sindh and Balochistan and the creation of SSGC Police Station formed for prosecuting gas thieves, have helped SSGC in intensifying crackdowns on the miscreants.

DG (SS&CGTO) said that for meaningful results, SS&CGTO Department has been structured on more result-oriented lines, whereby experienced civilians and law enforcement officials are taking care of gas theft intelligence and prosecution and operations wings of the Department.

The statement said that the LATI team lauded SSGC's ongoing drive against gas theft and anticipated that gas saved as a result will be passed on to the rightful and legal customers.