ISLAMABAD: Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar on Sunday clarified some ‘misconceptions’ about the availability and consumption of furnace oil (FO), saying it was ‘well stocked’ to meet the winter energy needs of the country.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, the energy minister said, “In summers Pakistan faced a moderate shortage of furnace oil as the FO (based) power plants ran more than last year (as per merit order) due to low water levels in dams.”
He added that the FO consumption was 116 per cent higher.
Thread on Refineries & Furnace oil; It is important to clarify some misconceptions.
-In summers Pakistan faced a moderate shortage of Furnace oil as FO power plants ran more than last year (as per merit order) due to low water levels in dams. FO consumption was 116% higher. 1/4— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) December 26, 2021
“Now the FO plants are running because of lowering flows from dams (canals closure) and in a couple of days will be consuming 13,000 tonnes per day of FO,” he said, adding that local refineries produce is only half that volume and IPPs stocks levels are still below the required levels.
Azhar further said that the country was well stocked on furnace oil in case of further LNG defaults. “The surplus at some refineries is going to IPPs as FO consumption is already above 6000 tonnes/day.”
The minister informed that “a new refinery policy is being finalised to shift refineries away from [the] production of FO.”
“We can supply only as much as coming out of the ground,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s gas reserves were declining by nine per cent on an annual basis.
He said that the demand for gas from domestic consumers increases in the winter and the government stops its supply to the industrial sector to meet this domestic demand. “We cannot provide cheaper gas beyond a certain limit,” he added.
