- 800
CNG refueling stations
- 300 more expected within 6 months
- Almost 900,000 natural gas vehicles (NGVs)
- CNG fuel price a major benefit
 Compressed
natural gas (CNG) development in Pakistan started in
the mid eighties when HDIP* set up two CNG refueling
stations in Karachi and Islamabad (major cities of
Pakistan). Due to excellent production and
distribution of natural gas in Pakistan, today there
are more than 800 CNG refueling stations operational
either at existing petrol stations or separately on
dedicated sites. 300 more are expected in the coming
six months.
CNG, being a well
proven alternative fuel with passage of time,
has increased its consumers in Pakistan to almost
900,000 vehicles making Pakistan the 3rd largest
user of CNG vehicles in the world after Argentina
and Brazil. Around 150,000 vehicles are converting
to CNG each year.
State of the
Art Equipment
CNG refueling
stations of Pakistan are equipped with state of the
art automatic controls and systems. High Pressure
Compressors installed are of various design types
like L-type, W-type, V-type, D-type. These
Compressors are usually imported from America,
India, New Zealand and China. Mother/Daughter CNG
stations in Pakistan are not operational currently,
however Pakistan State Oil (PSO) signed an MoU with
a UAE based firm last year for the setting up of
Mother/Daughter CNG facilities at their retail
outlets on highways at 100 km intervals where piped
gas is not available. Currently there are no vehicle
refuelling appliances (VRAs) operating in Pakistan.
Favourable
Pricing
In the past 3 years
petroleum product prices have increased by 100% and
CNG by 47% (from Rs.21/kg to Rs.31/kg) in Pakistan.
This has been a significant driver for the
conversion of vehicles to CNG. Current fuel prices
in Pakistan are:
Petrol Rs.
56.29 / liter ($US0.94)
Diesel Rs. 37.18 / liter ($US0.62)
CNG Rs. 31.00 / kg ($US0.52)
(Prices obtained from PSO)
Government
Policy & Support
The Government is taking major steps to promote CNG
by exempting all taxes and duties for the machinery
and equipment used for CNG refueling and conversion.
The Government is also supporting importers to set
up manufacturing facilities in Pakistan to produce
CNG kits, CNG Dispensers and CNG Cylinders locally.
The Government has planned to grant license for
setting up compressor factories in Pakistan, thus
allowing users to save its precious foreign
exchange.
A few months back the
Government also issued directives requiring
conversion of all official vehicles to CNG. In this
regard the Government is planning to set up more and
more CNG refueling stations by tendering in
different cities.
Different CNG
associations are also working in Pakistan for
betterment of CNG. They have asked the Government to
give incentives in the form of providing separate
higher flow or larger diameter pipelines to
refueling stations and to facilitate in obtaining
‘No Objection Certificates' (NOC's) and licenses
from different Government organizations.
Future
Prospects
In short, the CNG
industry has a wide potential in Pakistan; Pakistan
being the natural gas producer and having an
excellent distribution network is well geared to use
this resource to its maximum potential, in terms of
protecting its environment, saving its precious
foreign exchange, and offering economical fuel to
its population.
* HDIP = Hydrocarbon
Development Institute of Pakistan, an autonomous
body of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural
Resources, Pakistan
Some information
sourced from DAWN Newspaper
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