JEDDAH — A massive gas pipeline project to supply liquid and dry gas to homes and commercial firms will be implemented shortly as the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources and Saudi Electricity and Cogeneration Authority have completed its feasibility study. "The project is now being reviewed by the Shoura Council," said an informed source, adding that a decision on the project would be taken this year. "Concerned authorities were discussing the matter with the Experts Committee of the Cabinet during the past two years," he added. Dr. Fahd Bin Juma, deputy chairman of the economic and energy committee at the Shoura Council, said the consultative body would vote on the project after Eid Al-Adha holidays, tentatively beginning on Sept. 13, before forwarding it to higher authorities for final endorsement. "This is a long-awaited vital project," Juma told Al-Eqtisadiah business daily, adding that the government would exert all efforts to establish a safe and secure gas network. He said many developing and neighboring countries including Egypt and the UAE have already established such gas networks, giving home and business connections. "Egypt introduced the gas distribution system in 1980s, which is better than that of the Kingdom." Once approved by higher authorities, the project would be carried out jointly by the public and private sectors in phases, beginning in major cities. "Specialized foreign companies are likely to participate in the process," he said, adding that it would reach remote cities at a later stage. Salman Al-Jeshi, chairman of National Gas and Industrialization Company (Gasco), emphasized the project's importance, saying it would lead to new industries and products. "The project would require large-scale investment if used for air-conditioning purpose," he added. Mishaal Al-Robaiaan, spokesman of Gasco, said the demand for gas in the Kingdom reached 94 million cylinders and 500 million liters in 2015. "During the first quarter of this year we have distributed 200 million liters of gas to our customers across the Kingdom," he told the Arabic daily. "This is about half of the quantity supplied in 2015, when the total gas filled amounted to 500 million liters." Gasco feeds gas storage tanks on the land with capacities of 450, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000 and 7,000 liters as well as to underground tanks with capacities ranging between 1,000 and 5,000 liters.
