PSO fails arranging furnace oil, may worsen Power Outages
The power crisis may worsen as Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has failed to arrange required furnace oil cargoes which may lead to drying up stocks in the country
The petroleum division had informed Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif that the PSO had only received offers of one cargo of RFO against a bid of three cargoes for July 2022.
It warned that the power crisis may worsen in the coming days if PSO fails to arrange more cargoes for the month of July 2022.
During the high-level meeting on the power outages held on June 6, 2022, Petroleum Division conveyed that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) could supply an additional 3000 tons/day of RFO.
The operations of these RFO plants would reduce the load shedding by half an hour.
Therefore, in case the PSO could not receive requisite offers of RFO cargoes, the existing stock would dry up resulting in disruption of RFO supply to the power plants during July 2022, the petroleum division warned.
The failure of PSO to arrange fuel stocks may lead to worsening power outages during the month of July 2022.
No LNG available to minimize Power Outages
The Petroleum Division conveyed during the meeting that they could not meet the demand of 100 mmcfd LNG from the existing demand-supply position. to minimize power outages.
The petroleum division had informed that there would be no gas available to the fertilizer industry, or captive power plants. The government will also have to close the export industry in case they divert gas to power plants. This will result in a shortage of fertilizer in the country.
The Power Division informed that the Prime Minister had held a meeting on June 4, 2022, where all stakeholders considered a stocktaking of the load management of electricity supply to domestic consumers.
The Power Division had worked out different options to overcome power outages in the country that had worsened after the current government came into power.
PSO arranges 5 additional cargoes of diesel to ensure fuel stocks available
Power division informed that liquidity crunch was also one of the reasons to arrange fuel for the power plants.
The unprecedented rise in fuel price was also another reason for the failure to arrange fuel. Some power plants also went on temporary maintenance which also led to a shortfall of electricity in the country.
