LNG policy to affect every feature of economy: PEW
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Gas revolution taking place in Pakistan
The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Thursday said energy mix of Pakistan is being transformed in Pakistan which will have a positive impact on every sector or the economy.
The recently-introduced LNG policy is radically distinctive which will help balance energy mix, reduce dependence on oil and transform lives of millions of people while reducing inflation, oil import bill and pollution, it said.
Availability of LNG is set to grow but may not rise as fast as millions of consumers including operators of CNG stations would hope, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
Ha said that LNG offers a clean as well as reliable alternative to coal, costly petrol, it is answer to the shortages of natural gas and its advantages as a transportation fuel are stronger than ever.
Eleven countries were importing LNG in 2010 with almost zero share in transportation but today 27 nations are importing it while 42 countries would be importing it by 2020 to run industry, cars, trucks, trains and ships due to strong incentive of the price gap, he added.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that at present, about 80 percent of the world’s demand for transportation fuels are met by petrol but share of natural gas in the global energy mix edged up to 23 percent.
Worldwide demand for LNG in transport sector has been estimated at 45 million metric tonnes till 2025 and 96 million tons in 2035. Ships would be consuming 35.7 million tonnes of LNG as fuel in 2025 and 77 million tonnes by 2035 while railway engines will consume up to 6.2 million tonnes in 2035.
According to the International Energy Agency, the top 10 natural gas producers in 2013 were United States with production of 689 billion cubic meters (bcm), Russia 671 bcm, Qatar 161 bcm, Iran 159 bcm, Canada 155 bcm, China 115 bcm, Norway 109 bcm, Netherlands 86 bcm, Saudi Arabia 84 bcm, and Algeria 80 bcm.
Three countries hold 54 percent of all recorded gas reserves; the top ten reserves holders own almost 80 percent of the total. Apart from Qatar, Malaysia and Indonesia, US, China, India, Australia, Mozambique and some Carrabin nations are emerging as significant LNG players.
Dr. Mughal said that US has the best LNG infrastructure and the strongest engineering industry but it has refused to entertain Pakistan while signed contracts with India, Japan, South Korea and other countries.
