Pakistan to Focus on Increasing Domestic Gas Output to Avoid Overreliance on Imported LNG

Pakistan will focus on increasing domestic gas production to avoid overreliance on imported LNG, country’s oil minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Monday while speaking at an event in Islamabad.

Country’s gas production is hovering around 4 bcfd, while total demand has reached 8 bcfd and the gap is being bridged by imported LNG primarily from Qatar. However, in the same breadth the minister stated that LNG was short, medium and long term solution for gas crisis in Pakistan, The News, a local English daily reported.

He said the government is expecting the private sector to come forward as infrastructure was available to deliver LNG based gas to customers. The minister added that energy crisis could not be resolved without injecting more gas in the system.

Pipelines

In addition to LNG imports, Pakistan can expect to begin receiving piped gas from Turkmenistan and Iran in few years time.

The minister said that TAPI gas pipeline was now becoming a reality but it will take four to five years to come in the system. On the topic of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, Abbasi said that Islamabad is committed to building the pipeline but the project is still facing sanctions.

“The transaction of dollars has not been allowed and investors are not willing to finance due to ‘snap back’ clause which may lead to sanctions again on the project,” The News quoted the minister as saying.

He said once sanctions are lifted work on the project would start. Iran has already built 900 km length of the pipeline on its territory while Pakistan still has to start work on the pipeline that would traverse its territory.

About 250 million cubic feet gas would be imported from Iran during first year, while in the second year the import of gas would be enhanced to 500 million cubic feet while in the third year 750 million cubic feet gas would be imported.

Earlier this month a government official said that Pakistan will approach and request China to fund the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.