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Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, in a letter dated Sept. 30, has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to direct the Ministry of Petroleum to resume gas supply to the Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL) LPG production plant to meet the urgent requirements of fuel for cooking in flood-hit areas.
“In the aftermath of devastating floods that have wreaked havoc in most parts of Sindh, one of the urgent requirements for the people is availability of fuel for cooking,” read the letter, which thanked the prime minister for his support in helping the people of Sindh during this year’s calamity. “Dry wood, which is commonly used, may no longer be easily available to them,” it continued, noting that the JJVL plant—shuttered since June 2020—is “capable of serving 25,000 homeless people per day, who have no fuel for cooking.”
Stressing that the restart of the JJVL LPG Plant would be to the benefit of people of Sindh, the chief minister requested the prime minister to “immediately” instruct the Ministry of Petroleum/Sui Southern Gas Company Limited to resume gas supply to JJVL for production of LPG and NGL “which can be supplied to the flood-affected people in their area of operation.”
The chief minister attached a copy of a letter written by Iqbal Z. Ahmed, chairman and CEO of Associated Group which operates JJVL, dated Sept. 15. In it, Ahmed noted that food and fuel shortages loomed in flood-hit areas, adding that JJVL was capable of meeting the energy requirements of 500,000 homes and “effect the local prices of LPG very favorably” but had been shuttered since June 2020.
“I request that, at this time, when every unit of energy is needed in the country, especially Sindh, you may forcefully take-up the matter with the prime minister as the restart of the JJVL LPG Plant is essential for the benefit of people of Sindh and the country,” he added.
There are growing concerns of a looming energy crisis in Pakistan amidst a global surge in price of LNG, with Islamabad struggling to procure any cargo at affordable rates because of the global shortage triggered by sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. The government has yet to procure any suitable alternate, with gas and electricity shortages expected to surge in the winter months.