The government has decided to provide gas to the residential sector only three times a day for cooking purposes throughout December to March to minimise gas shortages in Pakistan, reports Dawn.
“Gas to residential sector shall be provided three times a day for cooking only,” the meeting was informed by the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division), who added that Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) diversion to domestic consumers is to be made bare minimum for stability.
Gas supply to power and fertiliser sectors of the country is expected to remain stable. Their supply and demand would remain unchanged.
This was all decided by Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) during a meeting presided over by Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar. This is part of the Gas Load Management Plan for winter 2021-22, which was presented to the committee.
It should be noted that the world is experiencing a fuel and gas shortage as recently it has been reported that the United States (US) government urged its citizens to leave Haiti because of the severe lack of fuel and closing down of gas stations in the country that have affected hospitals, schools, and banks.
During the meeting, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) also presented their additional measures against illegal gains and other revised rules according to which fines have been revised for licensees. The maximum penalty for major violations now starts from Rs10 million to Rs500 million.
Like every year, Pakistan is expected to be hit by a major gas crisis, reports Geo News.
One of the reasons is that local discoveries of gas have witnessed a dip, so the domestic gas reserves are reduced, the sources explained, adding that the local gas supply stood at 4,300 mmcfd a few years back but now it has depleted and stands at 3,300 mmcfd.
