Private vehicles: Ministry moves summary to end CNG fittings

Country will be facing severe gas load shedding in winter due to the growing demand-supply gap, said Minster for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Dr Asim Hussain on Friday. He stated this during a briefing to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance with Fauzia Wahab in the chair to consider two money bills: Petroleum Levy and Gas Infrastructure Development Cess.
The minister said that demand pressure has increased in Quetta from 20Mmcfd to 90MMcfd and similar situation would be in other areas as well. Asim said that shortage of gas was increasing rapidly and LPG would be alternate fuel in the country in the coming years.
The minister said that the government was working on various projects to overcome the shortage of gas including Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, TAPI, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan and India gas pipeline and import of LNG. The minister said that the his Ministry has proposed to the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet to impose ban on local manufacture and import of CNG fitted vehicles as well as import of CNG kits.
He said that all these steps are being taken in view of gas shortage in the country. The Minister said that he has also informed the Prime Minister during a meeting with him in the morning about severe gas load shedding in winter. Secretary Finance, Dr Waqar Masood seconded the minister, saying that equal gap in demand-supply of gas was indicating worse gas load shedding in coming winter. He said that current gas supply is 4BCF and there is equal gas shortfall of 4BCF in the country.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the Prime Minister House stated that Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani directed the Ministry of Petroleum and other stakeholders to work on war footing to ensure that people are put to minimum inconvenience due to gas shortage in the forthcoming months of November, December and January. The Prime Minister was chairing a high level meeting on the issue that was attended by the Minister for Petroleum, Dr Asim Hussain, Secretary Finance, Cabinet Secretary, Secretary Petroleum, Acting Chairman of FBR and other senior officials of the relevant ministries.
The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Petroleum to accelerate the process of increasing the supply of gas in the country. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources briefed the meeting about various gas development projects like Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, TAPI, Turkmenistan- Afghanistan- Pakistan and India gas pipeline and import of LNG to overcome the shortage of gas in the country.
He directed that work on these projects should be expedited and all the concerned authorities should meet today and in quick succession, if need be, to evolve an operational strategy aimed at speeding the work to overcome the energy deficiency in the country at the earliest. Gilani also underscored the need of launching an awareness campaign to sensitise people to the imperative of energy conservation particularly the gas conservation measures in the upcoming winter to ensure maximum benefit and comfort to the people.