ISLAMABAD: Beset by troubles since its inception, the second LNG terminal at Port Qasim, Karachi has got fixed and over 400mmcfd of supplies were received on Sunday, which was ramped up to 600mmcfd by Monday, said government officials at the Prime Minister Office (PMO).
The second LNG terminal has been beset by controversy since its inauguration in November by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. It had developed a fault, following a gas leak in the insulation joint linking the facility to the connecting pipeline infrastructure.
Since then three gas leaks in total had been found, delaying repair work at the facility, an industry source had said.
Currently, Pakistan’s gas demand is over 6 billion cubic feet (BCF) and it produces around 4 bcf, resulting in deficit of around 2 bcf. The price of domestically produced natural gas is a touch above than half of what imported LNG costs, reported Dawn.
The restarting of second LNG terminal has come at just the right juncture, as winter sets in and prospects of gas shortage around the country will rise with a drop-in temperature.
The restarting of operations at the 2nd LNG terminal means that total supplies of LNG from both terminals including the one owned by Engro stands around 1,200 MMCFD.
It was reported second LNG terminal owned by Pakistan Gasport Limited (PGPL) had started injecting gas into the national grid on Friday, but key intersection operated by Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) at Port Qasim to receive imported gas broke down.
This not only caused stoppage at PGPL terminal but also at Engro terminal, said the official.
