Chairman GasPort Urges OGRA Chairman to Exercise His Authority

Staff Report

Islamabad: Noted businessman Iqbal Z. Ahmed, founder and chairman of Pakistan GasPort Limited (PGPCL) addressed yesterday a seminar titled Unlocking the Potential; Navigating the Future of LNG in Pakistan.

In his provocative address, Mr Ahmed mentioned that since 2017, not a single new investment has taken place in the LNG sector in the country.

GasPort terminal represents a combined investment of USD 500 million and is the only terminal currently that has the capacity for LNG processing beyond the contracted capacities that the Government of Pakistan has at the two terminals, GasPort (PGPC) and Engro’s EEVT.

Mr. Ahmed pointed to how the two LNG private-sector operators, that have contributed significantly in saving precious foreign exchange by providing a relatively cheap fuel in relation to furnace oil, have had to go through harassment and intimidation, and in the case of EEVL, at the hands of NAB.

In October 2019, PLL, a Government of Pakistan entity under the Ministry of Energy, rescinded its 15-year contract with GasPort (PGPC). Subsequently, after three years in arbitration at the London Court of International Arbitration, the decision of PLL was reversed and the contract was reinstated.JJVL’s closure becomes a blessing for LPG Importers who pocket billions

Without opening up the sector for private sector imports and direct marketing, Mr Ahmed held that the present LNG scenario in the country would continue to lack dynamism and lose out on global opportunities to tap cheap LNG in the interest of the end user in the country.

For doing that, Mr Ahmed urged the OGRA Chairman to exercise his authority to bring more competition so that Pakistan secures more investment in the LNG sector and collectively the boon of a relatively cheap and environmentally efficient fuel can be realized far and wide in the country’s industrial and households net.

A total of 290 vessels have been unloaded at the GasPort, located in Port Qasim, since 2018 having in the process delivered 924 billion BTU of regasified natural gas to the national gas pipeline.