KARACHI: The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has announced an emergency shutdown of all compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations for three more days from tomorrow at 7:00 am.
According to an official announcement, CNG will now be available in Sindh after three days. LNG and local gas pumps will also remain closed, the SSG officials added.
The CNG association of Pakistan protested the unavailability and load shedding of gas after one day of opening their gas stations on Tuesday.
Due to a continuous non-supply of gas, the owners of the CNG stations are facing losses that stand at billions of rupees, according to All Pakistan CNG Forum chairman. The protesters demanded of the relevant authorities to revive the old schedule of CNG supply in the province.
The gas crisis has escalated in Pakistan during the past few months especially after authorities’ failure in getting hold of three cargoes of LNG as the bids were received at a fixed price in dollar terms at $12.95 to $15.95 per MMBtu and the government decided not to procure the pricey LNG.
On January 24, CNG stations reopened on Sunday after being closed for six-days in Sindh and almost 37-day in Punjab. According to a spokesperson of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), CNG stations will remain open across Sindh for 24 hours from 8:00 am Sunday.
Long queues of vehicles were seen outside CNG stations in the metropolis Sunday morning as gas stations reopened after nearly a week.
On the other hand, after an almost 37-day closure, CNG reopened in Islamabad and Rawalpindi from 6:00 am on Sunday. The gas supply to CNG outlets in Punjab and Potohar region was suspended for the last 37 days due to a shortage of the commodity in the peak winter season.
