Islamabad: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani directed the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to prepare a comprehensive strategy to meet the energy needs particularly gas and petroleum for the next two years. He also stressed that the Gas Load Management Plan for the country be prepared and announced urgently.
The Prime Minister was talking to Dr Asim Hussain, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources who called on him at the PM’s House this afternoon.
The Prime Minister reiterated government’s commitment to explore all possible options to ensure availability of electricity and gas in the country. He expressed confidence that besides tapping indigenous sources, agreements with other regional countries to meet our energy needs would bear positive results.
Earlier, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources briefed the Prime Minister on his recent visit to Iran and his meeting with the Iranian Minister for Energy. He apprised the Prime Minister that 1100 KM of gas pipeline on the Iranian side has been completed while the progress on the IP Gas Pipeline Project on the Pakistani side which started on 9th May is quite satisfactory.
As regards import of electricity from Iran, he mentioned that an Iranian team of experts would be arriving in Pakistan soon to assess the details of the project particularly establishing connection with our National Grid. The Minister also briefed the Prime Minister on the progress on LNG Terminal. He mentioned that work on KPD (Kunner Pasaki Deep) has started and 100 MMCF of gas will be available from October this year. He, further, added that 17 international bidders have shown Expression of Interest in supply of energy / gas to Pakistan. The prominent companies in this regard, he said, include Shell, Vital, GDF, Norwegian Fund and Daewoo Group.
The Minister also discussed the gas price rationalization prospects and also assured the Prime Minister that Gas Load Management Plan for the country would be announced soon.
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