ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has directed the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to prepare a winter plan and ensure that domestic consumers get uninterrupted supply of gas.The Prime Minister also directed the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to work in close coordination with the Ministry of Water and Power and ensure that fuel surplus are provided to Thermal Power Plants so that power generation in the country is not affected.These directions were issued by the Prime Minister during a briefing by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources which he visited on Monday. The Prime Minister is visiting various ministries and government departments as part of his plan to review their performance.Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that the people of Pakistan expect public utilities to provide them reliable, affordable and uninterrupted services.The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources as well as Ministry of Water and Power should endeavour to improve service delivery and come up to the expectations of the people of Pakistan, he emphasised. He said that he is fully aware of the difficulties and challenges being faced by various ministries and believes that overcoming these will reflect their performance.The Prime Minister said that as winter sets in the demand for gas would increase experientially. It is therefore imperative that fool proof arrangements are put in place to ensure that supply of gas to domestic consumers remain unaffected.He also directed the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to sensitize the people about the efforts being made by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to ensure provision of uninterrupted gas to domestic users.Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that he was happy to learn that the Petroleum Policy 2012 for exploration and production has been received well by investors which augurs well for the future of oil and gas sector in Pakistan.The Prime Minister was told that 1.6 million consumers were given gas connections at a cost of Rs.10.41 billion while 879 kms of transmission lines and 39707 kms of distribution and service lines were added to gas network with an investment of Rs.61.164 billion during the last four and half years of the present government.The Prime Minister was told that as a result of efforts being made by the present government 750 MMCFD gas is likely to be added in the system by June 2013, an increase of 20%.The Prime Minister was also briefed about the plans of the Ministry to augment gas supplies in the country. These include Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI), import of LNG and LPG.He was informed that the country imported oil to the tune of Rs.15 billion dollars which constituted 36% of the overall import bill of the country. Besides, the value of the gas produced in the country is 4.3 billion dollars and oil produced in the country is 2.4 billion dollars.Raja Pervaiz Ashraf appreciated the efforts of Ministry of Natural Resources for increasing the production of oil and gas in the country and expressed the hope that the efforts of the Ministry will lead towards energy security in the country.The Prime Minister also approved a special grant of Rs.200 million for Petroleum House being constructed in Islamabad.The meeting was attended by Dr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, Minister for Finance Choudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, Minister for Water and Power and other senior officials.

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