Staff Reporter
Islamabad
A multinational company will start construction on first merchant Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in the country by end of the next month [January] after the government opened up the energy sector under its ease-of-doing-business strategy.
“A vibrant structural framework is very much in place under which construction work on the first private sector LNG terminal will start by end of the January, while the physical work on another merchant terminal to commence in second half of the year 2021,” a senior official privy to the petroleum sector developments told media.
He said Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority was due to issue the licence for construction of a terminal within a day or two, adding all agreements, permissions and arrangements in that regard had almost been finalized.
After setting up the terminals, he said, the companies would import and sell the commodity on their own without any involvement of the government except regulation matters.
Replying to a question, the official said a formula already existed under which private sector could import LNG as per its requirements, get it injected into existing gas transmission network and receive at industrial units.
Currently, he said, two LNG terminals were operating at Port Qasim Karachi and injecting around 1,200 MMCFD gas in distribution network of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and Sui Southern Gas Company.
