In a significant move, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has drastically reduced the local gas off-take by more than 50%, dropping from 800 million cubic feet (mmcf) to below 400 mmcf per day. This decision was made to protect the national gas transmission system from the increasing line pack pressure, which has surged to 5.230 billion cubic feet (bcf). Despite this reduction, the transmission pipeline system remains under strain.
A senior official from the Energy Ministry revealed that SNGPL has informed the Petroleum Division of this substantial cut in gas off-take from local wells, yet the line pack pressure has not decreased as anticipated.
The situation has been exacerbated by the power sector’s lower-than-expected consumption of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG), currently at about 164 mmcf per day. This underutilization has led to a heightened system pack across the entire transmission network, causing ongoing concerns.
Additionally, Pakistan LNG Limited, the government-owned entity, has successfully negotiated to postpone one LNG cargo from ENI, originally scheduled for September, to December. This rescheduling is part of the broader efforts to manage the pressure on the gas transmission system.