LNG import licenses to be awarded in a fair manner – Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Pakistan

LNG import licenses to be awarded in a fair manner – Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has said that it is is consultation with all the stakeholders for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import.

Rumors about favouring one party of Liquefied Natural Gas Import Secretary over other are completely baseless and unfortunate, said Secretary Petroleum Muhammad Ijaz.

The Secretary Petroleum & Natural Gas Resources said that the OGRA and ministry have provided all the stakeholders with the Third Party Access Rules for LNG import. Furthermore, the Policy of “First Come, First Serve’’ would be applied and the entire process of awarding of licenses would be completely transparent to avoid any confusions or ambiguity. Muhammad Ijaz concluded that the process of awarding licenses of import will be merit-based and the OGRA and ministry would be treating all the concerned parties on equality.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani chaired a meeting earlier to import 500 MCCF (Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund) LNG in emergency to meet the high demands of electricity in the country. The imported LNG will be used for producing 2500 MW of electricity. It is expected that the import of LNG and the infrastructure to utilize it will be completed by September 2012.

For better and more capable transportation of LNG from Port Qasim to Punjab, a separate pipeline is to be placed. Works on that pipeline network is progressing satisfactorily. Construction of three terminals to receive such huge quantities of LNG will also be built at the Port Qasim facility, which is estimated to cost about &500 million.

Mohammad Ijaz commentated that his team was prepared to take on such a large oil & gas project. Meeting the mandatory legal requirements and imperatives of cost effectiveness of the project, he was confident of completing works in shortest period of time. Port Qasim Authority is already negotiating with the interested investors for the development of terminals and jetty to handle large quantities of LNG. An agreement will be finalized shortly, he said.

PQA has been given directions by the federal government to act on the prepared plan to cope with energy shortage problems in the country by importing LNG early to avoid as early as possible.