Islamabad: The government intends to build the country’s first Strategic Underground Gas Storage (SUGS) to deal with supply disruptions and gaps in demand, news sources reported on April 21. The project would cost PKR 127 billion.
According to reports, the government has chosen to pursue long-term strategic needs to develop energy resilience and improve energy security in the face of chronic gas supply deficits. The bankable feasibility study for the development of SUGS will cost about PKR 1.848 billion, with the objective of building a framework for the construction of strategic natural gas storage facilities. The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) will also be included in the feasibility study.
Furthermore, the investigation found that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) gave project feasibility funds of USD 575,000 in 2021. The government had designated locations for the SUGS throughout Sindh. The bank analysed the competitive bidding process, short-listed the consultants, and recently hired Ramboll as a consultant for the underground gas storage study on the parameters agreed upon with the ADB. It is vital to note that Pakistan is rapidly becoming an energy-deficient country, owing to the country’s declining natural gas reserves and high reliance on imported Liquid Natural Gas (LNG).
Pakistan is also constructing gas pipelines such as Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI), Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI), and LNG imports from Qatar and other countries to bridge the demand-supply gap.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
