LNG risks

Pakistan's two terminals for the storage of Liquefied Natural Gas are over-utilised and fragile, putting them at risk of the entire system being disturbed by a shock of any kind and resulting in what could be a very dangerous situation. Details of the problem are contained in a report submitted to the government by Pakistan LNG Ltd and Pakistan LNG Terminal Ltd. The report notes that, while the average storage at terminals around the world is 43 percent, in Pakistan it is at 84 percent. It is also reported that Engro Elengy is used to a far greater extent than its second terminal, which is both illogical and dangerous. In addition to the terminals themselves, the gas pipeline system and other parts of the infrastructure are also fragile and in need of care. The over-utilisation problem and the fact that returning the LNG to gas or transporting it to other places is very slow puts an extra load on the terminals.

Compared to European countries, Pakistan's terminals are loaded to a much larger capacity than the storage places. The situation presents many risks given that the repairing of any part of the infrastructure, should it collapse, would be an extremely expensive task and cost far more than maintaining the terminals better or handling storage more effectively by ensuring both the terminals are equally used and one is not overloaded more than the other. This is happening at present also because the Port Qasim Authority has the capacity to handle only one shipment of LNG a day. It receives the shipment for Terminal One on one day and for Terminal Two on another day. At certain times, two shipments are kept at Port Qasim with one in storage. This too is a risk factor.

The safety of the LNG structure in the country and the manner in which it is managed needs to be looked at carefully. Based on the report sent to the government, a panel of experts needs to be put in place to examine the situation and determine how the problem can be most effectively handled. LNG is nationally a vital resource for Pakistan. It is therefore necessary to ensure safety and maintain the same standards as the rest of the world, so that no extra burden is put on what is already a faltering structure of terminals and pipelines.