Pakistan is finally taking aim at its runaway gas losses — among the worst in the world — with an independent audit set to expose billions in unaccounted-for-gas (UFG) bleeding from the system. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) face losses of roughly 12% and 18% respectively, compared to global averages under 2%, a staggering gap that has crippled the country’s energy sector and hammered consumers through higher tariffs.
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According to sources, the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) has ordered a sweeping third-party audit to track, measure, and fix the losses — a move seen as the first real test of government resolve after years of internal reviews and failed reforms. Expressions of Interest (EoIs) will be invited from consulting firms, with October 6, 2025, set as the deadline.
The losses — driven by gas theft, leaking pipelines, faulty meters, and decades of poor infrastructure maintenance — cost Pakistan hundreds of billions of rupees annually, deepening circular debt and choking the country’s energy security. In FY 2019-20 alone, the financial hit exceeded Rs 700 billion, experts say.
Industry insiders call this a make-or-break moment. The audit will benchmark Pakistan’s performance against international standards, pinpoint every leak, theft, and inefficiency, and deliver a time-bound roadmap for reform. “This is about accountability and survival,” said a senior energy official. “Either we fix this, or we keep bleeding cash and gas while the public pays for it.”
The assignment’s scope is aggressive: consultants will comb through transmission and distribution systems, assess infrastructure health, investigate operational inefficiencies, and recommend enforceable corrective actions. To ensure credibility, a local firm with proven UFG expertise will lead the project, supported by a top-tier international technical partner.
For years, SNGPL has made incremental progress — reducing UFG to just above 5% by 2023 — but SSGC continues to report stubbornly high losses near 17%, putting enormous strain on the national grid. Globally, most countries stay below 2.5%, making Pakistan’s figures a glaring outlier and a red flag for investors.
Energy analysts warn that failing to address UFG could worsen Pakistan’s gas crisis as domestic reserves dwindle. The planned audit could restore confidence, attract infrastructure investment, and put the sector on a path toward efficiency and financial sustainability — but only if its findings are acted upon swiftly and transparently.
For SNGPL and SSGC, this is more than a technical exercise — it is a test of credibility. If executed seriously, the audit could finally bring Pakistan’s gas sector closer to global norms, protect consumers from unjustified tariff hikes, and stop the multibillion-rupee hemorrhage that has plagued the country for decades.