The Petroleum Division has finalised winter seasonal plan for uninterrupted gas supply to the domestic sector by curtailing supply to the CNG stations and the general industry (non-export) from December 1, 2021 to January 15, 2022.

In December the domestic and commercial sector supply will be around 948 mmcfd, in January it will raise to 1,048 mmcfd, and the gas deficit will be an estimated 67 mmcfd and 117 mmcfd, respectively.

The gas management plan will also be developed to ensure the stable supply of gas to the domestic consumers.

Gas supply to CNG stations will be curtailed during the winters.

The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) approved the demand side of the proposals. The CCoE will review the supply side of gas in the next meeting.

In December 2021, the SNGPL will have 252 mmcfd less gas in its system as compared to the same period of the last year.

The country will face additional gas shortages due to non-procurement of spot cargoes in December and January.

The shortage due to non-procurement of LNG during December will be 18 mmcfd, while in January 2022, it will be 120 mmcfd.

To meet the domestic and commercial gas demand, the SNGPL will require to divert RLNG worth Rs 92.147 billion for three months (from December 2021 to February 2022) to these sectors.

It was further informed that till November 2021, the cumulative RLNG diversion, to domestic and commercial sectors, cost Rs 102 billion to the government, while by the end of February 2022, the total RLNG diversion cost will reach Rs 194.147 billion.

In December the company will require diverting 361 mmcfd (worth Rs 29 billion), in January 2022, the diversion will be 575 mmcfd (worth Rs 42.373 billion), and for February 2022, it will divert 332 mmcfd of RLNG (worth Rs 22.907 billion) to domestic and commercial sectors.

In December there is a gap of 592 mmcfd in the supply and demand of gas, whereas, in January 2022, the gap is 772 mmcfd. The total shortage during December is 592 mmcfd, while the available gas is 1,574 mmcfd. The curtailment of gas will be 772 mmcfd during Januay 2022, while the supplies are 1,579 mmcfd.

This article first appeared in Business Recorder on Nov 21, 2021.