The price of fertiliser is expected to shoot up in the upcoming cotton sowing season due to product shortage after Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) suspended gas supply to fertiliser plants declaring ''force majeure'' under Article 14 of the Gas Supply Agreement executed between the parties due to a fault in compressors recently installed at Qadirpur field.
Sources said that after suspension of gas supply to plants, production of fertiliser would negatively affect resulting in its shortage leading to rise in prices. The dealers will also start hoarding the fertilisers to create artificial shortage in a bid to earn undue profits from the farmers. Sources maintained that fertiliser sector was on top priority after domestic sector in gas allocation policy keeping in view larger interest of farmers but SNGPL had cut off supplies by ignoring allocation policy. According to sources, SNGPL had also bypassed the concerned ministries while taking decision to suspend gas supply to fertiliser sector.
Gas supplies from some of the major gas fields namely Sawan, Sui, Zamzama and Qadirpur have declined considerably during the last few days. Qadirpur gas field, which has been supplying up to 460 MMCFD gas, suddenly reduced gas production by over 70 MMCFD in the last 3 to 4 days due to a reported fault in compressors recently installed and is currently supplying less than 390 MMCFD gas, resulting in severe depletion of transmission pack.
"Gas demand in the domestic sector in the northern part of the country has again increased, following sudden unexpected change in ambient temperature due to snow/ rain, leading to increase in the city loads in northern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province," letter sent to fertiliser plants by SNGPL adds. SNGPL said that Peshawar High Court''s decision on Article 158 of the Constitution did not allow curtailing gas supplies in any other sector in the KP.
"We have to manage demand supply with remaining available gas in Punjab. Even with continued massive gas curtailment in the industrial and CNG sectors in Punjab, demand supply position is worsening and presently our system is operating at the alarming level of 2700 MMSCF and in case of any further depletion, our transmission system shall no longer be operative. Therefore, no gas shall be available to fertiliser plants from now onwards. As soon as the supplies and correspondingly demand supply position improves, SNGPL shall endeavour to start supplying gas to the fertiliser plants operating on our system," SNGPL General Manager Corporate Sale Chaudhry Masood Ahmad said.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.