Punjab to float tender for laying of LNG pipeline

[Safriz]

Punjab to float tender for laying of LNG pipeline


LAHORE - The Punjab government is likely to invite tenders for laying the pipeline from Karachi to Punjab for the supply of LNG that will be imported to provide cheap source of fuel to the citizens. After completion of tendering and bidding process, the work on the proposed LNG project can be initiated.
Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is fast attaining currency world wide as the cheapest source of fuel and its availability at massive scale can largely meet the energy needs in the social and economic sectors including health, education, industry, and agriculture. The use of NLG will be besides the others means the government is employing to meet the energy shortfall in the country. Turkish company Global Energy Infrastructure, offered to make investment in this project that would need laying down of a pipeline from gas terminal Karachi to Punjab. The Punjab government has welcomed the Turkish company offer.
While presiding over a meeting to discuss energy crisis and the proposed project of LNG on Thursday the Chief Minister said Pakistan is a poor country and the government wants to complete low-cost energy projects with its limited resources. The CM said that in view of the seriousness of the energy crisis, efforts are being made for generation of power from LNG in addition to other sources. Provincial Minister for Energy Sher Ali Khan, Chairman Turk company Global Energy Infrastructure Ahmet Caliskan, head of Supply and Trading Wing Alexander Shamatok and other officers concerned were also present on the occaison.
The CM said that talks with federal institutions are necessary regarding various aspects of the proposed project.
Chairman Global Energy Infrastructure Ahmet Caliskan said that his company wants to cooperate with Pakistan in resolving energy crisis.

 

[niaz]

Punjab to float tender for laying of LNG pipeline


LAHORE - The Punjab government is likely to invite tenders for laying the pipeline from Karachi to Punjab for the supply of LNG that will be imported to provide cheap source of fuel to the citizens. After completion of tendering and bidding process, the work on the proposed LNG project can be initiated.

Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is fast attaining currency world wide as the cheapest source of fuel and its availability at massive scale can largely meet the energy needs in the social and economic sectors including health, education, industry, and agriculture. The use of NLG will be besides the others means the government is employing to meet the energy shortfall in the country. Turkish company Global Energy Infrastructure, offered to make investment in this project that would need laying down of a pipeline from gas terminal Karachi to Punjab. The Punjab government has welcomed the Turkish company offer.
While presiding over a meeting to discuss energy crisis and the proposed project of LNG on Thursday the Chief Minister said Pakistan is a poor country and the government wants to complete low-cost energy projects with its limited resources. The CM said that in view of the seriousness of the energy crisis, efforts are being made for generation of power from LNG in addition to other sources. Provincial Minister for Energy Sher Ali Khan, Chairman Turk company Global Energy Infrastructure Ahmet Caliskan, head of Supply and Trading Wing Alexander Shamatok and other officers concerned were also present on the occaison.
The CM said that talks with federal institutions are necessary regarding various aspects of the proposed project.
Chairman Global Energy Infrastructure Ahmet Caliskan said that his company wants to cooperate with Pakistan in resolving energy crisis.

This news shows that the reporting journalist has zero knowledge of transporting LNG. LNG is transported at about minus 162 deg C but kept at very close to 1-bar that is the atmospheric pressure at sea level which is equal to 750.06 mm of Mercury or about 14.5 psi.

On the other hand gas pipelines normally operate at pressures of between 60 & 80 bars even though pressure in excess of 100 bars is not unknown. In my more than 40 years of oil industry career, I have never came across a pipeline carrying LNG except for connecting shore tanks to the vessels loading or discharging LNG.

Standard procedure is to import LNG in ships to a regasification terminal. After it has been changed into a gas, pumping it thru the pipeline as you would in case of natural gas. The tender would therefore be for the gas pipeline not an LNG pipeline.

Additionally, I can’t understand why after regassification, LNG imported to Karachi cannot be injected into existing Sui Southern Gas pipeline network. You would probably need additional compressor stations to increase the capacity and need pipeline reversal. Far cheaper than building a new pipeline.

More appropriate way is to supply all the imported LNG to Karachi & lower Sind and divert equal volume of gas from Sui & Qadirpur fields to Punjab. A straight cft to cft exchange.

 

[Chak Bamu]

Excellent observation Niaz sb. I was about to post a similar reply to the news. I wonder if CM Punjab is out of his depth here. Or perhaps some technology to allow LNG to be converted into gas on its own within the pipeline on its way to Punjab? Or could this be related to parochial views abetted by energy insecurity? In any case there is too little information to go on.

I agree that LNG could be used in Karachi and its environs, while Punjab could get more from national supplies.

 

[niaz]

It is not that Pakistan lacks competent persons. I have come across a very comprehensive study “Iran-Pakistan peace Pipeline” edited by Dr Noorul Haq.

http://ipripak.org/factfiles/ff124.pdf

Most important consideration in any project is cost. To estimate cost of pipelines ‘rule of thumb’ is calculating cost per inch diameter per kilometre length. This changes from place to place and per project.

Generally speaking large capacity pipelines are cheaper. Based on the study referred above original estimate of a 48 inch diameter 2,775 kilometre long pipeline from Assaleuyeh terminal of South Pars Gas field to Delhi was $7.5-billion. This comes to about $56,300 per inch per kilometre.

Import requirements increase with time and Punjab would need at least a 10 inch pipeline. Even though smaller diameter pipelines are more expensive, for simplicity we will apply the same cost/inch/Km. Distance from Karachi to Lahore as the crow flies is about 640 miles or approx. 1030 kilometers. This translates into cost of a 10 inch pipeline at a minimum of about $560,000 per kilometre or $560-million for a 1000 km long pipeline.

Does our honourable Khadim Alaa Mr Shahbaaz Sharif know how much a separate pipeline is going to cost Punjab Exchequer?

 

[Tangent]

...Cheaper, faster and safer..yes safer and reliable source would be via Attari to Lahore...
...but when did economy was given precedence over politics...in pakistan...