HASSAN ABBAS

LAHORE: Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Chairperson Uzma Adil Khan said on Monday that the Sui Northern Gas Pipe Lines Limited (SNGPL) has reduced its Unaccounted For Gas (UFG) losses while the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Limited is also working to reduce the same.

She was talking to media persons after the stakeholders’ awareness session on UFG bench mark study conducted by an independent international reputed consultant (KPMG) hired through a transparent and competitive process.

She said that due to some administrative problems the SSGC was unable to reduce its line loses but now they are working on it and hopefully they will reduce it soon.

Uzma said the authority would take the decision for determining the UFG bench mark for five years as soon as the consultation process with the stakeholders is completed. She also said that the authority would not take any decision in which burden of losses will pass on to any stakeholder.

While addressing the session, Uzma Adil Khan said that the UFG is one of the most critical elements in the gas sector and it is, therefore, important for stakeholders to understand the term ‘UFG’ and the reasons contributing to it.

She said that high UFG levels of the gas companies have been a major area of concern for the reason that it is wastage of a scarce resource and avoidable to a great extent. The Ogra has always urged the gas companies to control its UFG losses so that unnecessary burden may not be passed on to the consumers and the financial health of the gas companies should improve.

The Ogra chairperson ensured the participants that their all valuable suggestions and contributions would be given due consideration while finalizing the final draft of the study.

The session was attended by Managing Director SNGPL Amjad Latif, representatives from industry all over Punjab, media persons and general consumers. The consultant gave a detailed presentation on the study. The interveners raised numerous questions which were addressed accordingly.