The National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum reviewed key developments in the gas and LNG sector during its 12th meeting, chaired by Syed Mustafa Mehmood, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday.

Briefing the committee, Ali Pervaiz Malik, Federal Minister for Petroleum, said Pakistan has concluded negotiations with Qatar to divert surplus LNG cargoes to the international market while remaining within existing contractual obligations. He said Qatar had continued to honour its commitments at a time when several global suppliers defaulted, and that both sides had reached a mutually acceptable arrangement regarding excess LNG cargoes.

The minister also informed the committee that, on the directions of Shehbaz Sharif, gas prices would remain unchanged for the next six months across all consumer categories. He said the decision would apply to the remaining six months of the current fiscal year.

Updating members on sectoral finances, the minister said the flow of circular debt in the gas sector had been contained and that no fresh circular debt was being generated. He added that enhanced gas supply was being provided to domestic consumers nationwide and confirmed that no domestic gas field was currently under curtailment.

The committee was further informed that gas supplies to the power sector were being maintained beyond demand projections under the Integrated Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) to help prevent load shedding.

Managing directors of the gas utilities also briefed the committee on operational improvements. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited reported that its Unaccounted-for Gas (UFG) losses had declined from 9 percent to 5 percent, while Sui Southern Gas Company said its UFG losses had been reduced from 17 percent to 10 percent.

The committee was told that Internet of Things (IoT)-based monitoring systems, including Town Border Stations, had been deployed at tail ends of the gas network. These systems generate automated alerts in the event of pressure drops, enabling real-time monitoring and improved supply management.