ISLAMABAD: In a bid to reinforce existing gas transmission network across the country, the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) have expanded 194 kilometers (km) gas transmission and 4,673 km distribution network during the last fiscal year.
“SSGCL and SNGPL increased their transmission network by 47 km and 147 km, distribution network by 1,029 km and 3,644 km respectively for providing gas to distant localities,” according to an annual report 2015-16 issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).As of June 30, 2016, the SSGCL and SNGPL’s cumulative transmission network stood at 3,614 km and 7,941 km and distribution network at 44,761 km and 103,517 km respectively.
During the period, the two gas companies provided new gas connections to 324,501 domestic consumers. The government has initiated various measures to bridge the gap between demand and supply of gas which included the incentivizing of local gas production, import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and made significant progress on Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) and Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline projects.
The total supply of natural gas has reached 3.947 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in the country against demand of around 8 bcfd gas, which is further increasing. “The shortfall in gas is expected to reach 4,099 mmcfd by 2019-20 and it will reach 6,711 mmcfd without imported gas by the year 2029-30,” the report said.
