Pakistan’s natural gas transmission system ‘at risk’ due to line pack pressure

• Local E&P companies are reducing their gas flows putting gas fields at risk.
• The power domain reduces the RLNS by increasing the line pack pressure.
• A senior official says “the pipeline could burst at any moment”.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s natural gas transmission and distribution system is at risk due to increasing pressure on the line pack which has surged to a dangerous level of 5.13 billion cubic feet (bcf) after May 5, The news reported on Monday.

Pressure on the natural gas transmission system remained at a manageable level of 4,570-4.97 bcf between May 5 and May 25, but has now shot up to critical levels due to reduced use of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) by industry power, a senior official in the publication.

“Now, the natural gas system has come under pressure again on May 25-26, mainly due to the reduction in RLNG usage by the power sector,” the official said, adding that the pipeline could burst at any time as the system gas transportation is becoming more and more. vulnerable if gas pressure exceeds the 5 bcf mark.

The official’s remark came as line pack pressure was at 5.13 bcf on Sunday as opposed to 5.17 bcf on Saturday. Local Exploration and Production (E&P) companies reduced gas flows by 176 mmcf from 783 to 605 mmcf, which is dangerous for the operation of natural gas fields.

The power sector has reduced the use of RLNG to 475 mmcf as a fuel for power generation, due to which the line pack pressure has increased to 1,530 bcf, putting the gas transmission system under pressure.

Meanwhile, natural gas consumption in the fertilizer industry stands at 52 mmcf compared to Saturday’s consumption of 40 mmcf with low consumption of RLNG (24 mmcf) by Fatima Fertilizer due to start-up of its plant at 19:00 on the 24 of May after completing their Annual Rotation. ATA).

In addition, Engro Fertilizer’s natural gas consumption of the system was suspended at 22:00 on April 22 due to the start of its annual plant turnaround of approximately 54 days.

With the current RLNG consumption rate at 32 mmcfd, the data warns of extremely high stress conditions across the transmission network due to reduced RLNG uptake by the power sector.

Commenting on the steps taken to address the situation, he said the authorities have started reducing gas flows from local gas fields to the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) system to reduce line pack pressure.

However, the official noted that the reduction in the flow of natural gas from local gas fields poses significant risks to maintaining the current level of local gas production.

Recalling repeated warnings from exploration and production companies about the “dangerous” practice of cutting local gas flows to preserve the natural gas transmission system, he said gas wells nearing exhaustion are being forced to reduce gas flows, causing irreparable damage and cannot be recharged to their original flux levels.

The wells require capital-intensive investment through artificial lift methods to resume production, he concluded.