Sindh will not have surplus gas from 2021 onwards: Pakistan Energy Minister

Testifying before a panel of the parliament’s upper house, Pakistan’s Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan’s acceptance that Sindh will not have surplus gas from 2021 and it might not be able to meet its own demand from its production has revealed the crisis that awaits in the future.

Khan has been quoted as saying that the country is currently facing a gas shortage of about 3.5 billion cubic feet per day. “The gas load shedding would continue during the upcoming winter as the production of indigenous gas was decreasing while the demand was on the rise.”

This revelation comes after Prime Minister Imran Khan had commented that the country has reached a “tipping point” after which it will see only success.

The Energy Minister’s statement has come amid Saudi Arabia’s strong stance against Pakistan.

The decade-long friendship between both countries turned sour when Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi issued a warning to Saudi Arabia after the latter refused to act against India over Kashmir issue. Following the warning, Saudi Arabia issued a statement that loans or oil supply will no longer be given to Pakistan.

Islamabad also had to pay back USD 1 billion to Saudi Arab, which was part of a USD 6.2 billion package announced by Saudi in November 2018, which included a total of USD 3 billion in loans and an oil credit facility amounting to USD 3.2 billion.