The News reported that the Sui Southern Gas Company has signed a MoU to import Liquified Natural Gas as part of efforts to fulfill the country’ growing energy needs.
An official of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources said that the MoU has been signed by Mr Zohair Siddiqui MD of SSGC and Mr Stephen Pyne chairman United LNG of the US, at the Pakistan Petroleum Exploration Promotion Conference held recently, said that.
According to the MoU, United LNG will supply 4 million metric tonne of LNG per year to the SSGC.
Official said that Pakistan would also own a share in the liquefaction facilities in the Gulf of Mexico along with United LNG. In order to ensure a continuous supply of LNG, dedicated ships will be used to transport LNG to Pakistan.
The official added that it was expected that the landed cost of LNG with an inbuilt cap, including transportation and re-gasification cost, would be less than the price of the Iran Pakistan Gas Pipeline Project and Turkmenistan to Afghanistan to Pakistan to India Gas Pipeline Project. However, supply of LNG as per the MoU would be subject to approval of both, the US and Pakistani governments.
Official said that the import of LNG would supplement the efforts of the Ministry to ensure energy security. Moreover, other options are also being explored to add 750 million standard cubic meter feet per day gas to the system by June 2013.
The official said that the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited has made a discovery of 20 million standard cubic meter feet per day gas in Sindh Province, which would go a long way in easing the gas crisis.
Additionally, the government is working on bringing in gas through the Iran-Pakistan and TAPI Gas pipeline projects to meet growing energy demands in the country.
