Pakistan’s Secretary Petroleum & Natural Resources Mr. Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry chaired a meeting to review import of LNG.
Representatives of OGRA, USAID and LNG importers attended the meeting.
Mr. Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry dispelled the impression that the government is violating the LNG Policy and emphasized that the import process would be based on merit and completely transparent.
Keeping in view the current energy crisis, it was unanimously agreed that LNG import would help in overcoming the gas shortage. It was decided that a committee will be formed by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources comprising of the representatives of the Ministry, OGRA and the representatives of the LNG importing companies. The committee would be mandated to look into the detailed process of the LNG import and to resolve the concerns of the importers. It was clarified that a separate Expression of Interest (EoI) would be advertised for LNG tolling.
Secretary Petroleum emphasized that the Government will follow the provisions of the LNG Policy and no favoritism or nepotism would be extended to any party interested in importing LNG.
It may be recalled that Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) received strong interest from local and international players in response to its invitation for the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) under Third Party Access, having received 17 ‘Expressions of Interest’ (EoIs) for the allocation of capacity under its transmission system from leading companies interested in developing their own LNG Floating Storage and Re-gasification Unit (FSRU), arrange their own supply of LNG and having their own buyers of re-gasified LNG (RLNG). OGRA issued provisional licenses to three companies Gasport, GEI and Engro.
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LNG World News Staff, January 15, 2012