LAHORE, March 6 (APP): Unaccounted For Gas (UFG) is one of the most
critical elements in the gas sector, and it is very important for the stakeholders to understand the term ‘UFG’ and the reasons contributing to it.
A session was held on it, moderated by the Oil and Gas Regulatory
Authority (OGRA) Registrar, in the presence of Chairperson Mrs Uzma Adil Khan, Member Noorul Haque and senior OGRA officials, here on Monday.
The session was told that high UFG levels of the gas companies have been
a major area of concern for the reason that it is wastage of a scarce resource and, to a great extent, is avoidable. OGRA has always urged the gas companies to control its UFG losses so that unnecessary burden may not be passed on to consumers and the financial health of the gas companies could be improved.
In order to determine the UFG benchmarks, based on the international
best practices and local environment, and keeping in view ground realties, OGRA conducted a comprehensive UFG benchmark study through an independent international reputed consultant, KPMG, hired through a transparent and competitive process. The draft report has already been placed on OGRA’s website (www.ogra.org.pk).
OGRA, through a public notice, invited all stakeholders to extend their
comments/ views on the draft report for finalisation of the report.
In order to make the process meaningful, stakeholders engagement
sessions have also been scheduled at provincial headquarters and Islamabad. The first session was conducted in Karachi, and the second session in Lahore.
A large number of participants attended the session including
representatives from industry all-over Punjab, media persons, general consumers and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) officials.
The consultant gave a detailed presentation on the study. The
interveners raised numerous questions which were addressed accordingly.
The OGRA chairperson, at the concluding session, assured the
participants that their suggestions/ contributions would be given due consideration while finalising the final draft of the study.