STAFF REPORT LHR: In Pakistan fertilizer units getting gas from SNGPL have expressed intentions to invest $100 million for the development of dedicated lower BTU gas fields. This is aimed at improving the gas supply to fertilizer plants to improve capacity utilization of local plants instead of depending on costly imported urea.
The fertilizer sector has been facing severe curtailment of gas since April 2010, one of the worst affected sectors, which has worsened the rural economy over the last few years.
Khawaja said that successful implementation of the long term plan will ensure self sufficiency of country in fertilizer production and would also bring substantial savings of half a billion dollars of foreign exchange annually and subsidy of approximately Rs20 billion that the GoP has to pay on one million tons imported urea.
“Now fertilizer plants getting gas from the SNGPL network will get gas from different small fields as a replacement of gas which would be discontinued from existing sources,” said Shahab Khawaja, Executive Director Fertilizer Manufacturers Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC).
He said that the decision to supply gas to fertilizer industry through dedicated small fields is in line with the strategy to reduce burden from the SNGPL network, and to ensure continuous supply to general and industrial consumers in the country.