Development of natural gas as a vehicular fuel in Pakistan: Issues and prospects

In a step towards adopting environment friendly fuel and to save foreign exchange, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) was introduced by the Government of Pakistan in the country in 1992. Due to available price differential between CNG and gasoline/diesel and investor friendly policy and regulatory framework, CNG sector has shown tremendous growth over the last ten year in the country. This growing demand of natural gas by CNG sector, results in gas shortages in the country. This paper describes the key steps in the development of CNG as transportation fuel in Pakistan. The present scenario of the CNG industry including the natural gas vehicles (NGVs) population growth and the expansion of CNG refilling stations are discussed. Various aspects of the CNG program in Pakistan, for example environmental benefits, economic benefits and problems associated with CNG industry of Pakistan are illustrated.