ISLAMABAD: Petroleum Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan has hinted at establishing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility to maintain the strategic stock of the commodity to meet the energy needs of the country.
In a recent interview with the state television, he said there were reservoirs of petroleum products, but the country had no LNG storage facility.
“LNG comes straightway from the vessel, shifted to terminal and injected to transmission lines directly for onward supply to consumers. Sometimes it (LNG) can be in surplus or otherwise. The country should have LNG stocks,” he added.
Sarwar said Saudi Arabia, which is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan next month for the establishment of a mega oil city in Gwadar, had also offered assistance in establishing LNG reservoirs. Besides, he added, Saudi Arabia is showing a keen interest in diverse fields, including mineral, fertilizer, wind and solar energy.
Answering a question, the minister said it was the efforts of the new government that made the petroleum sector part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, following which a mega oil city, consisting of oil refineries and petrochemical complex, was being set up at the Gwadar deep seaport.
After the establishment of the oil city, he said, Pakistan would be able to refine and store imported oil for onward transportation to China using the CPEC route, besides developing fuel supply chain for the landlocked Central Asian states.
