Zubair Yaqoob
Islamabad
The energy shortfall in Pakistan currently stands at 3000 MW and with an annual population growth rate of almost 2%, the demand for power will grow.
The country is in process of exploring various options with 4 new power plants being built. The country remains primarily reliant on non-renewable sources to generate electricity. Pakistan is a country that is rich in natural resources but over time, its main source of natural gas at Sui in Balochistan has shown signs of dwindling reserves.
This prompted Pakistan to begin importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to power its main power plants. In the year 2017, regasified LNG made up to 16% of the total natural gas supply in the country. According to OGRA statistics, LPG supply increased to 3029 MT per day in the previous year and consumption jumped to 3,133 MT per day. The increasing consumption mandated expansion of LPG projects in the country.
SEPA recently approved Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (PIBT) Limited’s application to build an LPG terminal project at its existing facility in Port Qasim. The installation has received criticism from various circles in society for not conducting a comprehensive risk assessment and not presenting the findings to the public. The project involves transfer of LPG from shipping vessels to the pipelines that carry it to storage facilities. The United Nations Committee of Experts has outlined guidelines and provided some recommendations of the transport of dangerous goods.
The International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code is a globally accepted and implemented set of principles that is followed by organizations which handle flammable substances including PIBT. Ports around the world safely handle the logistics of multiple flammable and dangerous substances at once and PIBT follows the same guidelines at its terminals with regular audits carried out by renowned organizations. The organization engaged HSE & Engineering consultant to conduct a comprehensive Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) for the project.
The EIA report is available on SEPA‘s website. Non-renewable energy continues to pose environmental threats but the extensive reliance of Pakistan’s infrastructure on these sources results in the shift towards green economy difficult.
Steps have been initiated in this regard but as long as the right foundations are not set, requirements of the population continue to be met by fossil fuels.
