ISLAMABAD-The consumers of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) will face gas shortage for around 16 days (August 12-27) as the company supplies will be substantially affected by the annual maintenance and shutdown in gas field.
As a result of the shutdown, SSGC will face an estimated shortfall of 107 mmcfd during the full Annual Turnaround Plan (ATA) period and 50 mmcfd each during the two partial ATAs, said a spokesperson of the SSGC. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has issued an ‘Annual Turnaround Plan 2023’ for its Kunnar-Pasakhi Deep (KPD) gas field whereby it will be undergoing planned maintenance for 16 days in three phases, i.e. from August 12 - 27, 2023.
According to the schedule, one full ATA of 8 days leading to a complete gas shutdown of the field and two partial ATAs of 4 days each, have been planned by OGDCL. As a result, SSGC will face an estimated shortfall of 107 mmcfd during the full ATA period and 50 mmcfd each during the two partial ATAs.
Since the demand-supply gap of natural gas is already affected due to the constant depletion of gas reserves, this ATA will further widen this gap as due to this planned maintenance job, many customers and especially those located at the tail-end of SSGC’s gas distribution lines may face low gas supplies and pressure. According the SSGC spokesperson, the company will be closely monitoring the situation and will do its utmost to effectively manage the gas load by ensuring maximum available supplies to all categories of its customers. Moreover during these three phases of the ATA, SSGC would keep its customers in Sindh and Balochistan informed on the developments from the supply side.
As per the details, SSGC is serving its consumers in the franchise provinces of Sindh and Balochistan since 1954. The company buys gas in bulk from more than two dozen local and international exploration and production companies (E&P) companies, for supply across its franchise areas. SSGC’s transmission system comprises over 4,143km of high-pressure pipeline.