KARACHI: Managing Director of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) Imran Maniar announced on Wednesday that SSGC has laid down a dedicated network for gas supply at high pressure to industrial areas in Karachi and Hub.
During a briefing to the media about the company’s projects to upgrade the gas supply network in Sindh and Balochistan, the MD said that dedicated pipelines have been laid down for the supply of gas to industries in Korangi, Landhi and SITE industrial areas in Karachi, as well as to Hub. “These lines will be commissioned during this month and are likely to improve gas supply to these industries at high pressure,” he said.
According to Maniar, industries in Karachi and Hub have been complaining about low gas pressure for quite some time now as residential areas are also located adjacent to these areas, which also consume the gas being supplied through one line.
Now, he said, dedicated pipelines for these areas will not only resolve the complaints of low gas pressure but also provide gas exclusively to these areas, adding that a new dedicated pipeline will also be laid down for the future industrial areas at Karachi Northern Bypass.
He pointed out that apart from these dedicated pipelines for industrial areas, SSGC has also undertaken work for the improvement of the gas supply network of domestic consumers, as the existing pipelines in various parts of the city, especially in old areas, are not catering to the needs of domestic consumers in these areas.
Regarding unaccounted-for gas (UFG), he said that SSGC has decreased UFG substantially in the last few years. He said that total UFG of SSGC was 18 per cent in 2018, which came down to 10 per cent in FY24. He said that the real challenge of SSGC was to bring down UFG both in volume and percentage, which has been tackled.
Maniar said that the real problem of UFG mainly lies in Balochistan, as the same has been reduced massively in Sindh and is now close to the 7.6 per cent benchmark of the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).
About future gas needs, Maniar said that tight gas is the solution in view of the depleting stocks of natural gas in the country and informed that the federal government has approved a policy in this regard. He said that coal to gasification is another area, which is under consideration by the government.
About the future revenue requirements of the company, the MD said that the government has approved Rs250 per MMBTU for captive power plants, which will generate an additional Rs13-15 billion in revenue for the utility.