The people in CNG business are making huge profits because they are buying gas at Rs23 per kg and selling the product at Rs56: Dr Asim Hussain.—File photo

KARACHI: The next year will be a particularly difficult one when it comes to availability of gas in the country and the government is considering importing LNG to ease the crisis, according to federal minister for petroleum and natural resources.

Talking to reporters during a visit to the Karachi Press Club on Saturday, Dr Asim Hussain said that new gas reserves could be discovered under the Sui deep-II project. Efforts were also being made to revive some dormant fields in Sindh.

He said the country’s total gas reserves could grow five times in the next five to 10 years. The first samples of shale gas explored near Hala, in Sindh, had already been sent for testing.

The new initiatives with regard to shale and tight gas exploration in Sindh would not only be meeting the requirements of the province but of the entire country, Dr Hussain added.

He said that facts had been kept under wraps in the past but the present government had undertaken the task of formulating a new energy mix in an effort to resolve the crisis faced by the country.

The energy mix developed by previous governments failed to meet the country’s requirements because the rising cost of oil and the expected gas shortage had not been factored in.

Answering a question, Dr Hussain said the people in CNG business were making huge profits because they were buying gas at Rs23 per kg and selling the product at Rs56.

The minister said the circular debt had been growing rapidly due to several factors, including line losses and theft, tariff determination by Nepra, inefficiency of generation companies and non-payment of dues. He said the government had formulated a policy for settlement of gas royalty, under which the provinces had to fund development works in the districts where the discoveries were made.

He said the issue was being discussed with Sindh and Balochistan and pointed out that the districts needed to be provided the benefits of royalty.

Dr Hussain was of the opinion that the killings in Karachi were the result of wrong policies of previous governments. Other countries went through similar problems but once they sorted out their priorities they began making progress.

He said the rapid increase in its population and the presence of piles of illicit weapons in Karachi were the main reasons for violence in the metropolis.

The minister said the Constitution had provided a framework for creation of new provinces in the country. Anyone who demanded creation of a province while remaining within the parameters laid down in the Constitution should not be described
as a traitor.