Acute scarcity of gas looming, as LPG projects crawl

The blight of acute scarcity of gas is staring the country much before the taking up of the Iran Gas Pipeline project, as the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) projects also hit snags.
Energy experts told that the LPG project of about one billion cubic feet capacity was moving at snail’s pace due to the gas contracts’ constraints, excessive high spot price and the questions relating to its future consumption. They said that the long-term contracts of gas were not available now, which after 2013 might be available at $12 to $15 per MMBTU. Presently, international market gas spot rates were seen at its peak at $15 to $20 per MMBTU, while the local reserves’ gas was available at less than $4 per MMBTU and Iranian gas at $5 to $6 per MMBTU, which prompted the suppliers’ reluctance in entering into gas contracts without the guarantee of the government of Pakistan.