KARACHI: The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) on Monday said that all compressed natural gas (CNG) stations across Sindh and Balochistan will remain closed for two-and-a-half months starting December 1, due to a shortage of natural gas in the province.
According to the statement, the supply to CNG stations will also be cut from December 1, 2021, to February 15, 2022. “The supply of gas to non-export industries has already been cut off,” the company added.
It added that the decision was taken to meet the needs of domestic consumers and in the wake of the widening supply and demand gap. However, gas supply to zero-rated industries, including captive power plants will remain uninterrupted.
The decision was taken in adherence to the Ministry of Energy’s (Petroleum Division) approved gas-load management plan, which places domestic and commercial customers on top of the gas sectoral priority list, the statement said.
The volume of gas curtailed from suspension to CPPs of non-export units and the CNG sector would be diverted to domestic customers to enable them in catering to their enhanced gas loads arising due to the winter season, the SSGC said.
Earlier, it was reported that owing to the widening gap between gas supply and demand at the outset of winter, the government directed SSGC to suspend supplies to captive power plants of non-export industries and divert them to households with immediate effect.
The SSGC has also diverted gas to parts of Balochistan’s residential areas where temperatures have started dropping below freezing point. In these regions, people use gas heaters and geysers to remain warm during winter.
This is the third successive year when the country is reeling from the gas crisis during winter. The exorbitantly high liquefied natural gas (LNG) price in the global spot market has led to the worsening of the crisis.
