KARACHI
Engro Elengy Terminal Limited (EETL), in collaboration with Shell and Fatima Group, plans to construct another terminal at Port Qasim with a capacity to regasify up to 600 mmscfd.
This was announced at a briefing at the terminal by EETL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jahangir Piracha. He was briefing a bunch of journalists on celebrations of an upcoming milestone of the existing terminal which is set to receive its 100th LNG tanker.
Piracha said that this was an unthinkable scenario just a few years ago, as, despite the LNG policy being enacted in 2006, there had been no practical move to develop the LNG ecosystem.
He said the terminal has already handled 6.1 million tons of LNG since commissioning through 100 shipments, thereby bridging national natural gas deficit by 20-25 per cent in the process. The terminal is providing a round-the-clock supply of natural gas at a utilisation rate of 100 per cent for the Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU).
Also, with the supply of RLNG, Pakistan is saving about USD 1.7 billion each year due to fuel arbitrage savings between diesel and LNG alone. Additionally, Engro is one of just fifteen companies in the world, which is operating such an advanced terminal storage and regasification technology that enables such efficiencies.
Paracha further said that the guaranteeing of gas has had a profound economic impact nationally. Over 2200MW power generation capacity has been brought online or switched from more expensive liquid fuels.
RLNG also energised close to a dozen projects, generating billions of dollar economic activity in the country. More than 750 CNG stations started operating in Punjab for the first time with RLNG supplies, the first steps to an estimated $ 4.5 Billion industry.
Similarly, the revival of fertilizer industry is also made possible with the substantial increase in production. This contributed significant savings to the national exchequer and had a direct contribution to GDP. The running of fertilizer plant at full capacity provides relief to farmers in terms of cheap and easily available urea fertilizer. It also brightens prospects of export of urea fertilizer in order to earn precious foreign exchange.
Historically, the unavailability of gas to fertilizer plants has resulted in an outflow of valuable foreign exchange as imports increase to meet demand.
Additionally, 500 industrial units, mainly comprising of export-oriented textile units have been revived leading to job creation for youth and the hope of reversing the recent and concerning slide of textiles exports.
Jahangir Piracha also said that LNG is not only the cleanest hydrocarbon on the planet, it is more efficient in power generation with 60 per cent efficiency on RLNG vs 45 per cent on alternate fuel. It has much lower operations and maintenance costs and is thus friendlier on the economy, resulting in lower electricity tariff for the masses.
