Islamabad: The All Pakistan Compressed Natural Gas Association (APCNGA) expressed confidence on Tuesday in a strong revival of the CNG sector on the back of increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in the next two years.
“Around 3,200 CNG stations were running in 2012 when natural gas supply to the outlets was stopped due to scarcity of the commodity,” the association’s leader Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha said.
“In 2016, however, around 2,300 stations restarted operations courtesy of increased LNG availability,” he said while emphasizing the importance of LNG as a substitute for CNG. He pointed out that several private sector investors were taking keen interest in setting up LNG terminals and hoped that LNG demand would expand to one billion cubic feet per day.
Currently, Pakistan State Oil is importing 600 million cubic feet of LNG per day (mmcfd) with the volume expected to double soon. Paracha said CNG stations were running round the clock throughout the week and getting uninterrupted gas supplies.
“The association is planning to import latest CNG kits and cylinders,” he stated, adding the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) had granted approval for the scheme.
The new kits are designed for 660cc to 3,000cc vehicles.
“Two foreign companies from Italy and Singapore have agreed to provide EFI compatible CNG kits and new lightweight cylinders in Pakistan,” he added.
“The new equipment will be cost-effective compared to skyrocketing vehicle prices,” he emphasized, adding prices of new cylinders and kits would be decided after their import. “The future belongs to inexpensive and environment-friendly fuel sources, which can be 30% cheaper than petrol at the existing rates,” he claimed, adding CNG stations were now consuming 100 mmcfd of gas, which would soon be increased to 250 mmcfd.
