Details won’t be released: Khaqan

AAMIR SAEED & NAVEED BUTT

ISLAMABAD: The government cannot disclose the price of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to be imported from Qatar but if the parliamentarians want to know about the import contract, then they should either convene an in-camera session of parliament or form a parliamentary committee.

Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi made these remarks on Wednesday while responding to a calling-attention notice in the National Assembly.

“The complete public disclosure of the price and LNG contract isn’t possible but if the supplier allows us, then we may have public disclosure to some extent,” he said.

The Minister, however, added that LNG procurement is still being negotiated with the Qatari authorities and as soon as the contract matures parliament will be taken into confidence.

“The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet will decide about the price and I assure the house that it would be a transparent deal,” he said.

The Minister said that the first shipment of 60,000 tonnes of LNG is due to arrive on Thursday (today) at Port Qasim Authority in Karachi and it would be in the system from March 31. “The LNG will help save around 300 million dollars per annum besides helping in generation of 1000 MW additional power annually,” he said.

The primary recipient of LNG would be power sector and the government has already made allocation to four Independent Power Producers (IPPs), he said, adding that the quality of the imported LNG is much richer and all storage and gasification units are ready to handle it.

Taking on the PPP, he said that the previous government failed to import the LNG from Qatar despite its best efforts, “but we have done it despite all hurdles and I also assure the House that price of the imported LNG will be the best in Asia.”

The Minister said that Port Qasim Authority, Sui Southern Gas and Sui Northern Gas raised some issues regarding handling of the LNG but now all those matters have been addressed.

Regarding price of the gas, he said that no benchmark for pricing of LNG is available in the market as its price depends on numerous factors, including geography.

Speaking on a point of order, Federal Minster for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the imported gas would be provided to four IPPs and KAPCO. “We hope the smooth supply of the gas to these entities would help overcome load-shedding in summer,” he said.

Earlier, during a question-hour in the National Assembly, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources Jam Kamal said that Pakistan and Iran are engaged in negotiating a workable implementation plan for Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project.

He said that Pakistan is pursuing the project implementation through an alternate strategy with Chinese cooperation. He said that the strategy is to complete the pipeline segment from Gwadar to Nawabshah along with the construction of an LNG terminal at Gwadar Port.

Answering another question, he said that Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) is being collected and the money collected would be used to overcome the shortage of energy especially for implementing gas infrastructure projects.

In a written reply to a question, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told the House that both Iran and Pakistan are bound by bilateral agreements and presently are engaged in negotiating a workable implementation plan for the Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline.

He said that Pakistan is pursuing the project implementation through an Alternate Strategy with Chinese cooperation and assistance. The alternate strategy encompasses completion of pipeline segment for Gwadar to Nawabshah (700 kms) along with the construction of an LNG terminal at Gwadar port this will be take 3 years to complete (December 2017). He said that 80 kms Gawadar-Iran connecting pipeline segment will be built as soon as the international sanctions on Iran are lifted.

Answering another question, the Minister said that presently 30 E & P Companies are operating in Pakistan – 12 local and 18 foreign.

He said that total investment made by E&P Companies during the last five fiscal years is Rs. 910.72 billion (US $ 8.93 billion at prevailing exchange rate) and 373 wells were spuded during the said period.

Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Pervaiz Rashid also told the Lower House of the Parliament that a three-pronged strategy of awareness, prevention and enforcement is being pursued to eradicate corruption from the country. He said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been successful not only in bringing the culprits to book but it also recovered billions of plundered money. He said NAB has recovered 3880.47 million rupees and completed 869 inquiries since June 2013.

The Minister said that several laws are in the pipeline including the establishment of a national commission for the protection of child rights.