The current gas load management plan was approved by the former government on January 28, 2013, according to which it was decided that first priority order will be given to the domestic and commercial sectors while power and general industries sectors will be accorded second and third priority, respectively. The cement sector remains fourth priority and CNG the lowest priority. The official said that Pakistan's indigenous gas production stands at 2 Billion Cubic Feet per Day (bcfd) against demand of 4 bcfd during the tenure of the PPP led coalition government which disabled it from meeting the demand of some sectors including power, fertilizer, cement, CNG in the past.
The import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has improved gas supply/demand situation by enabling the government to supply gas to fertilizer plants, general industry, textile industry and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations. Ongoing imports of LNG are meeting up to 25 per cent of gas shortage, which have narrowed the 2 billion cubic feet per day shortfall during the PPP tenure. Domestic consumption during the ongoing winter season has increased demand from 800 mmcfd to 1.3 bcfd.
At present the government is supplying a total one bcfd gas to power sector and 600 mmcfd to fertilizer sector. The CNG stations in Punjab and Sindh are getting three-day a week gas supply, while CNG outlets in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are exempted from gas loadshedding, owing to the court ruling. The official of the Petroleum Division said that continuing supply of gas to the textile industry is necessary to achieve export targets, while to attain food self sufficiency (in wheat and other important crops) gas supply to fertilizer plants is also being ensured.
Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Aamir Fayyaz Sheikh told Business Recorder that "if we are comparing the implementation of gas load management plan of the current government with the former government, we can credit present government for more effectively dealing with the shortage". During the PPP government industrialists as well as factory workers in Punjab protested against prolonged gas load shedding, which forced thousands of industries to shut down or move to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but now situation has improved, he added.
Fayyaz Sheikh however pointed out that the textile industry of Punjab has concerns over high price of gas compared with Sindh and KP: industry in Punjab is receiving gas at Rs 1100 mmcfd while industry in Sindh and KP are provided gas at Rs 800 mmcfd. Consumers across the country are complaining about low gas pressure and outages for hours, Nadeem Iqbal Chairman Consumer Protection NGO told Business Recorder.
According to a recent report released by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the province-wise recorded gas production and consumption during financial year 2015-16 in SNGPL and SSGC was as follows: Sindh 63 percent of the total national natural gas output, Balochistan 17 percent, KP 7 percent, and Punjab 3 percent while 7 percent is accounted for by LNG imports. On average, during the last 5 years, more than 324,534 consumers were connected to the gas network in 2015-16, out of which about 255,736 consumers were in Punjab, according to the report.