ISLAMABAD, May 19 (APP): Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Musadik Masood Malik on Thursday said the government, being cognizant of the growing energy needs of consumers in the sweltering months of May and June, had completed the procurement of seven additional cargoes of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
“We have purchased four additional cargoes for May and three for June, besides the normal procurement of LNG as per 1200 MMCFD consumption for the two months. It means all the required LNG has been acquired,” the minister said while addressing a news conference here along with Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan.
He said the additional LNG had been purchased at the exorbitant rate because the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government did not buy it when it was available at $4-5 per MMBTU (Million British Thermal Unit). Now it was available at $22-25 per MMBT, he added.
Highlighting incompetency of the past regime, Musadik said the PTI government procured 260 MMCFD (Million Cubic Feet per Day) of gas against the demand of 400 MMCFD in November last, 250-55 MMCFD against the need of 475 MMCFD in December, 134 MMCFD against the demand of 510 MMCFD in January and only 270 MMCFD against the requirement of 350 MMCFD in February.
“Why they [PTI government] did not purchase the required LNG? No one has answer of it,” he added.
He was of the view that those, who ruined the energy sector during their four-year tenure in power, were blaming the current government for their wrongdoings and incompetence.
The minister said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government during its past tenure had signed the agreements for regasification of per MMBTU at the rate of 40-42 cent, but the PTI paid at the rate of 94 cent-$1per MMBTU.
In 2018, he said, the circular debt stood at around Rs 1,100 billion that had now reached Rs 2,640 billion, adding that the PTI government was not able to defend that unprecedented increase.
Musadik said the PTI government had been blaming the PML-N for setting up costly power units that were generating electricity at the rate of Rs 9.60 per unit. Now, the per unit production cost had reached Rs 16.20 during the tenure of the PTI government.
The minister said the PTI laid a landmine before quitting the government by reducing oil and diesel price by Rs 10 liter each till June, as it was done without allocating any budget and approval by the Federal Cabinet or the Economic Coordination Committee. “Rs700-800 billion budget was needed for the fuel subsidy, while the affairs of the whole Federal Government take Rs 520 billion.”
He said the PML-N leadership was committed that no additional burden would be put on the common man, as it wanted a foolproof system to protect each and every person of the low-income group prior to taking any decision regarding revision of the fuel prices.
