According to Pakistani constitution (18[SUP]th[/SUP] amendment) natural resources of each province is theirs and thus first priority of its usage is theirs too. It is up to individual provinces to export their resources to other provinces what they should do after fulfilling their own requirements. Anyhow, such is not happening, because even when Sindh is producing most of Pakistani oil and gas, we find considerable shortages of these two commodities in Sindh while oil and gas from Sindh is getting exported to Punjab. Same is true about Baluchistan.
Province-wise Annual Gas Production and Consumption Trend, 2006-7
[TABLE=“width: 572”]
Province
Total Gas Produced (MMCF)
Total Gas
Consumed (MMCF)
Ratio (Consumption VS Production in %)
Sindh
Punjab
NWFP
Balochistan
1,000,415
68,608
26,370
318,188
459,369
638,008
42,480
82,138
45.91
930
161
25.81
Source:* Pakistan Energy Yearbook 2007*
Above data for year 2006-07 Shows that Punjab use 930 percent Pakistani produced gas more than they (Punjab) produce, or 9.3 times more Pakistani gas what they produce. Same with NWFP, that they use 161 percent, or 1.61 times more Pakistani gas than what they produce. Sindh consume gas less than half what they produce and Baluchistan consumes gas a quarter of what they produce.
**Here is ‘2007’ data of province wise production and of oil and gas in Pakistan:
Province-wise Oil Production in Pakistan**** 2006-07** [TABLE=“width: 499”]
Province
Oil Production (Million Barrels)
Percentage
Sindh
Punjab
NWFP
Balochistan
13.87
7.85
2.8
0.024
56.36
31.91
11.619
0.1
Pakistan
24.61
100%
Source:* Pakistan Energy Yearbook 2007, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources GOP*
Province-wise Annual Gas Production: 2006-7
[TABLE=“width: 499”]
Province
Non-Associated Gas (MMCF)
Associated Gas (MMCF)
Total (MMCF)
%
Sindh
Punjab
NWFP
Balochistan
979,198
52,481
22,818
318,188
21,217
16,127
3,552
0
1,000,415
68,608
26,370
318,188
70.77
4.58
1.86
22.50
Pakistan
1372,685
40,896
1413,581
100%
Source:* Pakistan Energy Yearbook 2007*
The situation means, unless Pakistan starts importing Gas in big way, there would always going to be shortage of Gas in Punjab and NWFP, as sooner or later Sindh and Baluchistan, just to satisfy the requirements of their own crowd, would try to consume themselves whatever ‘oil and gas’ they produce without exporting them to other provinces. As Pakistan is getting poor, value of $ is increasing fast (that would increase the price of imported oil and gas in future), population is increasing fast, energy consumption is increasing fast, demand for oil and gas is increasing fast … we could not expect to see any bright future (unless Pakistan economy start booming).
But then … this is what people of Pakistan want and they are getting, that is, they prefer their own desirable person to rule Pakistan and they also want development from the hand of their desirable person regardless of however corrupt and incompetent that person may be. They hate, do propaganda, and would like to live with lies when development and prosperity comes from the hand of an undesirable person (for them) however honest, hard working, and competent that person maybe.
In a country where ruling, corruption and nepotism is taken as opportunity and right of resourceful and victimising helpless as honour of resourceful, we cannot expect anything good other than misery.