The beginning of 2023 in Pakistan has been marred by a debilitating gas crisis, brought on by a faltering economy. In some areas of the country, people are filling balloons with cooking gas for later use. Even residents in affluent neighbourhoods are complaining that they either no longer have gas to cook food, or there’s not enough pressure in pipelines during meal times.
In Sindh, the crisis has only worsened over the past few weeks. Pakistan’s financial capital Karachi is grappling with a ubiquitous shortage.
Sui Southern Gas Company, Karachi’s primary gas supplier, had previously announced that gas would be available eight hours a day, concentrated at meal times.
But they have failed to deliver on the promise. Those who can afford it are now resorting to eating out and food deliveries. Demand for electric burners for cooking and heating rods in lieu of geysers has skyrocketed. But these aren’t sustainable alternatives for a crisis that shows no signs of abating.
How Pakistanis are coping
This year, winter in Pakistan was accompanied by long and unannounced bouts of gas loadshedding.
“Earlier, there was gas load shedding, but there was still gas for meal times. Now there is no specific time for the loadshedding. We don’t have any gas for two to three weeks, too, at a stretch. It’s not even there during mealtimes,” a Karachi woman told Dawn.
On the off chance when there is gas, it produces reddish flame, which “stinks
and blackens the pots and pans,” she added.
She bought an electric burner for cooking, but rotis can’t be cooked on it. She uses a microwave oven to heat food and buys bottled water.
To add fuel to the non-existent fire, she still received a gas bill of 450 Pakistani rupees.
Citizens are struggling to deal with the added financial burden. “Since there is no gas to cook food, we had to buy an LPG cylinder. However, for someone whose monthly budget is Rs25,000 to Rs30,000 this alternative is highly unaffordable,” a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa resident told The Tribune.
In Pakistan, particularly among poor people, the usage of illegal gas packed in plastic bags instead of cylinders for cooking is increasing. The bags are filled with natural gas at shops that are connected to the country’s gas pipeline network. People use these packets in the kitchen through small electric suction pumps.
A woman living in Charsadda district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told Deutsche Welle that “they have no other choice.” A medical officer in Islamabad told the German news-agency that
her facility receives about eight patients daily from gas-related incidents, with one or two of them being critically injured. 16 shopkeepers were arrested in Peshawar for selling gas-filled plastic b
Russia-Ukraine war
Dwindling natural coupled with a growing demand, as well as a drop in the country’s foreign exchange reserves are at the core of the problem. Pakistan currently contributes to less than 1 per cent of global gas consumption, but as per reports, the demand for gas is accelerating steadily. Supplies also remain low owing to difficulties in paying imports.
Pakistan was initially unable to procure gas from the international community. The International energy market is currently in flux, part of tremors from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Although, beginning this year, Russia will be selling crude oil to Pakistan at a discounted price.
Situation in Karachi
Pakistan’s economic hub Karachi is facing an acute gas crisis with the only semi-state-owned natural gas provider on Tuesday announcing a tough schedule for domestic consumers.
The Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) announced that domestic consumers would get gas supply only for eight hours a day — morning, afternoon, and evening — during “meal timing”.
The announcement comes after months of unannounced gas load shedding in the city which has left domestic consumers frustrated and angry.
“As per the prime minister’s directives, SSGC is ensuring gas supply to its customers during meal hours as per the given schedule,” the utility said in a tweet.
The utility company, however, made no mention of the remaining 16 hours of the day.
Pakistan's gas reserves are depleting fast as demand for fuel has surged with the growing population even as the supplies are shrinking due to no discovery of new gas reserves in the last 20 years. The country mostly meets its energy demands through imported and indigenous resources currently in a ratio of 44:56.
Disputes with foreign gas suppliers and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have also contributed to the gas crisis in Pakistan. Political instability, inconsistent policies, security problems and weak contract enforcements have also prevented foreign firms from investing in Pakistan's oil and gas exploration sector.
The start of the winter season has only added to the woes of city residents who have been forced to face prolonged power load shedding and breakdowns.
According to reports, nearly every locality in the city has been facing very low pressure or no supply of gas during peak hours for the past weeks, with the gas utility company also not responding properly.
In some areas, consumers have complained of hardly getting two hours of gas supply during the day. There have also been complaints about low gas pressure in many areas which means consumers are even unable to cook proper meals.
In many areas, people have started depending on LPG gas cylinders which in turn is burning a hole in their pockets.
Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Sheikh admitted that the crisis had intensified in the Sindh province, saying it was surprising since Sindh produced the highest quantity of gas in the country.