Participants at a public hearing overwhelmingly supported the cases of two separate firms for grant of construction licenses at the earliest to help reduce energy costs and gas shortage that currently stood at about three billion cubic feet per day [BCFD].
It took up two separate petitions for grant of license for construction and establishment of LNG re-gasification terminals including all allied facilities at Port Qasim, Karachi. Petitioners Tabeer Energy Private Ltd (TEPL) and Energas Terminal Private Ltd (ETPL) applied under Ogra (LNG) Rules 2007 for grant of license.
The petitioners have required construction licenses for Ogra before taking final investment decisions (FIDs) on setting up LNG terminals at designated sites as all other regulatory processes have already been completed.
The licence would allow the developers to set up terminals, purchase LNG supplies, re-gasify it through proposed LNG terminals and supply RLNG to the domestic market and use themselves in their sister companies
Both applicants said they had their own customers in the private sector and would arrange LNG imports without any liability to the government by utilising the pipeline network of gas utilities. Both parties declined to share the name of manufacturers of Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) saying this could hamper their business plans.