Domestic consumers to face daily gas outages of 16 hours in winter, NA body told.

ISLAMABAD -- Warning of a difficult gas shortfall-hit winter ahead, the Secretary Petroleum has said that domestic consumers will face daily gas outages of 16 hours during the season.

This time, winter is quite difficult regarding gas availability and gas will be given only three times to domestic consumers during cooking time, Secretary Petroleum Division Muhammad Mahmood said while briefing National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum here Thursday.

The committee, which met with Aamir Talal Gopang in chair, was informed by Secretary Petroleum Division that there is no gas in the country, therefore in the winter season only 8 hours in 24 hours gas will be supplied to the domestic consumers. Secretary Petroleum said that domestic consumers will get gas for three hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon and three hours in the evening. Muhammad Mahmood said that the country is running out of gas reserves and if the situation continues like this, after ten years, Pakistan will run out of its own gas. Regarding purchasing expensive LNG, Secretary Petroleum said that they cannot buy expensive LNG and sell it cheaper.

There are areas in the country with gas deposits, but the exploration is not possible due to security reasons, he said. There are no new discoveries of gas due to security risk and political instability, he added. Instead of coming to Pakistan, big petroleum companies in the world are going to other countries, secretary said and added that global companies are going to low risk countries in search of oil and gas. Global companies are not coming to Pakistan because of political instability and are going to low-risk countries to search for oil and gas. Due to political instability, international oil and gas companies are not ready to invest here, Secretary Petroleum said and asked that why would a company come for a year?. They say that after one year this government will not be in place, then what will happen to them...