ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The federal government is following a compressive strategy to reinforce existing gas transmission network for which around Rs 3,571 billion will be spent in different phases.
“Rs 71 billion are being spent on upgradation of SNGPL and SSGCL transmission network across the country during the current fiscal year, besides initiating projects worth $ 2 billion North-South gas pipeline and approximately $ 1.5 billion Gwadar-Nawabshah gas pipeline and LNG terminal at Gwadar,” official sources in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources told the state-run news agency.
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGL) have planned to invest Rs 13,896 million on transmission projects, Rs 32,739 million on distribution projects and Rs 24,408 million on other projects bringing the total investment of Rs 71,043 billion.
Commenting on the last year performance of companies, they said SNGPL and SSGCL had laid 116 kilometer gas transmission network, 1,848 kilometer distribution, 679 kilometer service lines and connected 203 villages and towns to gas network.
During the period, they said the utility companies had invested Rs 9.959 billion on transmission projects, Rs 8.705 billion on distribution projects and Rs 13.705 billion on other projects bringing total investment to about Rs 31.919 billion.
During the fiscal year 2015-16, they said, the companies issued 254,648 domestic, 202 commercial and 20 industrial connections.
Answering a question, the sources said a 1,100 kilometer North-South gas pipeline will be constructed with Russian investment of $2 billion.
Under the project, around 12.4 bcm (billion cubic meters) of gas would be transported from Karachi to Lahore per annum through a 42 inch diameter pipeline.
Moreover, they informed that 42-inch diameter 700-kilomtre Gwadar-Nawabshah gas pipeline is expected to commence soon on the same route of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project in collaboration with China.
The pipeline would be laid along with two compressor stations while the terminal at Gwadar would have the capacity to handle up to 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas.
The $ 1.4 to 1.5 billion project, he informed, was being executed on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, adding that the pipeline would pass through Pasni, Ormara and Hingol before reaching Nawabshah.
The sources said 48 percent energy-mix needs of the country were being met through natural gas, adding that the country had an extensive gas network of over 11,538 kilometer transmission, 1,14,982 kilometer distribution and 31,058 kilometer services gas pipelines to serve more than 7.9 million consumers.
