The National Assembly standing committee on Petroleum was informed about the CNG pumps in Punjab facing various dilemmas circling around severe gas load-shedding. - File photo

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly standing committee on Petroleum was informed that the CNG pumps in Punjab were facing severe gas load-shedding.

The committee took serious note of 47 cases of relocation of CNG pumps sites by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), and it was decided that the authority would justify its decision of giving permissions for the transfer of CNG pumps sites.

The committee, which met on Friday in the parliament house chaired by Sardar Talib Nakai, discussed the issue related to the CNG sector.

It was informed by the Ogra officials that there was no ban on granting extension to the provisional licenses already issued.

They further informed that ban on the issuance of new CNG licenses was enforced in Feb, 2008 and the Ogra has only been extending the validity of the provisional licenses.

Meanwhile, supreme council All Pakistan CNG Association chairman Ghiyas Paracha, said that load-shedding is not the solution to the energy crisis in Punjab. The shortage could be removed if the genuine users are given gas.

The committee was informed that 100 MMCFD gas was being supplied to Engro Fetilizer located in Sindh, whereas this gas should be provided to Punjab.

“This will reduce the loadshedding by half in the province,” Mr Paracha said.

He also said that the CNG sector was paying the highest tariff for gas but gas is provided to other sectors, which are paying much less tariff thereby causing revenue loss to the government.

The NA body was informed that CNG sector consumes only 8.1 per cent of total gas produced in the country, but it benefits more than 40 million middle and lower middle class people.

The committee noted that priority be accorded to CNG for use in metropolitan cities due to its inherent environment- friendly exhausts.