Islamabad:
Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) officials admitted Thursday at a parliamentary panel meeting that their agreement with a private company to convert natural gas into the LPG could affect the gas supply to its consumers.
During a meeting of the Permanent Committee of the National Assembly on Petroleum, chaired by Mustafa Mahmood, the Shahid Ahmed Committee said that there are already gas shortage in the country and, nevertheless, the SSGC plans to sign a contract with Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL).
SSGC officials confirmed that the contract would affect the local gas supply. They informed the committee that the JJVL will convert the gas into LPG and sell it to the private market.
The committee questioned whether this agreement would reduce the Sui Southern gas supply and sought complete details of the JJVL agreement at the next meeting.
The parliamentary panel also raised questions regarding the deregulation of the oil sector.
The Shahid Khan committee member said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has abundant natural resources. He questioned if a survey of these natural reserves had been conducted. The committee sought details about the surveys for the next meeting.
During the informative session on gas storage projects, the authorities said there is a need for gas storage facilities in the country. They said there was a plan to build a new gas storage project in the country.
However, the Committee recommended to close the gas storage project, arguing that the need must be evaluated first.
MNA Sardar Ghulam Abbas said it was said that there were vast gold reserves in Baluchistan. “Where are those reservations? First we must verify what exists and what does not,” he added,
The committee also expressed concern about the absence of the Minister of State for oil at the meeting. The president said that the petroleum secretary was abroad, but the oil minister should have attended the meeting.
The authorities declared that the Common Interest Council (CCI) had proposed a formula for the deregulation of the oil sector and 35% of the newly discovered gas can be sold to the private sector. They said that efforts are being made to deregulate the oil sector.
MNA Asad Niazi questioned what will happen to the provinces if deregulation occurs. Petroleum officials responded that Sindh had raised this problem again in the CCI.
