NAVEED BUTT

ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) took serious notice of the non-completion of 17km gas pipeline extension at Port Qasim by the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), which was a hindrance to utilisation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal capacity.

The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) met with Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar in the chair in Islamabad on Thursday.

The CCoE asked the Minister for Energy to personally follow up with the government of Sindh to ensure that the NOC was issued for the construction of the pipeline and the project was completed by December 2020.

The Cabinet Committee stressed on full utilisation of excess LNG to make the additional gas available in the system.

Implementation status of North-South gas pipeline was also presented to the Cabinet Committee on Energy.

The Committee directed the ministry to expedite the process of start of land acquisition project.

Detailed project implementation schedule along with the transaction structure and formulation by February 2021.

The Cabinet Committee on Energy also reviewed implementation status of North South Gas pipeline project and High-Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO) and Low-Sulphur Fuel Oil (LSFO) demand for power plants.

The CCoE reviewed the requirement of the furnace oil for winter months presented by the Ministry of Energy.

The committee directed the ministry to plan for meeting the industrial and residential demand fully during winter months, without any curtailment of load.

The Committee further directed the ministry to ensure that the utilisation of all other fuel sources, including renewable and coal, is maximised before assessment of furnace oil requirement.

An evaluation of domestic refining capacity would also be made, so that minimum import of furnace oil is required.

The Petroleum Division presented the natural gas demand supply situation for the winters including LNG import requirements.

The Cabinet Committee directed the ministry to ensure that no gas load curtailment is done for the industry, and all efforts are made to meet the remaining system demand.

Gas allocation priority criteria will be adhered to by the ministry during the winter season.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz, Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce, Textile, Industry, Production and Investment Abdul Razaq Dawood, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Petroleum Nadeem Babar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Mineral Resources Shahzad Qasim, and officials of various divisions.