Cabinet okays changes to LNG policy 2011: sources

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet has approved changes to the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Policy 2011 ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Qatar, ARY News reported on Saturday, citing sources.

According to sources, the federal cabinet has approved the summary through circulation on an emergency basis as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to visit Qatar next week.

Sources told ARY News that the cabinet approved the changes to exclude new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals and associated facilities from application of mandatory Third Party Access (TPA).

The decision will encourage foreign and private sector investment in LNG, sources said, adding that it would help meet the growing demand for gas in the country.

A day earlier, the ECC approved major changes to the LNG Policy 2011 under which it removed a key sticking point of the upcoming private sector LNG terminals on merchant model to facilitate Qatar’s investment in Pakistan’s LNG supply chain including terminals and LNG supplies.

In doing so, it also allowed all LNG terminals, including those already operational, to utilise their spare capacity that is not contracted by the government. As a result, existing gas pipeline capacity for new terminals may be limited.