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ISLAMABAD – The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) Thursday approved the Gas Load Management Plan for the winter 2021-22, and it was decided that uninterrupted gas supply to domestic sector will be ensured during the season, while the gas supply to the CNG stations and general industry (non-export) will be stopped from December 1, 2021.
The CCOE that met under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar here approved the demand side of the gas load management plan.
The Petroleum Division presented the projected natural gas supply and demand position in the country for the upcoming winter. During the meeting, the petroleum division presented a detailed impact analysis of different policy options for the management of gas demand during winter 2021-22. It was informed in the meeting that the enhanced demand of domestic consumers is to be met through savings from captive power generation. The prudent pressure management plan will also be developed to ensure the stable supply of gas to the consumers. Gas supply to CNG will be curtailed during the winters. Industrial activity will be a focus in the gas management plans, especially the export industry. The CCOE approved the demand side of the proposals submitted by the petroleum division. It was further decided that the CCOE will consider the supply side proposals in the next meeting.
The meeting was informed that in December 2021, the domestic and commercial sector supply will be 948mmcfd, while in January it will be 1048mmcfd, and there will be a shortage of 67mmcfd and 117mmcfd respectively in both months.
To meet the shortages, gas supply to CNG and non-export general industry will be stopped from December 1, 2021, to January 15, 2022. “In case of cold weather the ban can be extended till the end of January,” said the source.
In December 2021, the SNGPL will have 252mmcfd less gas in its system as compared to the same period of the last year. The country will face additional gas shortages due to non-procurement of spot cargoes in December and January. “The shortage due to non-procurement of LNG during December will be 188mmcfd while in January 2022, it will be 120mmcfd,” said the source.
In Dec 2021, there is a gap of 592mmcfd in the supply and demand of gas whereas in January 2022, the gap is 772mmcfd. The total shortage during December is 592mmcfd while the available gas is 1574mmcfd. Similarly, the curtailment of gas will be 772mmcfd during Jan 2022 while the supplies are 1579mmcfd.
It was proposed in the meeting that to meet the domestic and commercial gas demand, SNGPL will require to divert RLNG worth Rs92.147 billion for three months (from Dec 2021 to Feb 2022) to these sectors. It was further informed that till November 2021, the cumulative RLNG diversion, to domestic and commercial sectors, cost Rs102 billion to the government while by the end of February 2022, the total RLNG diversion cost will reach Rs194.147 billion. In December 2021, the company will require diverting 361mmcfd (worth Rs29 billion); in January 2022, the diversion will be 575mmcfd (worth Rs 42.373 billion); and for February 2022, it will divert 332mmcfd of RLNG (worth Rs22.907 billion) to domestic and commercial sectors.