Day: December 18, 2020

Pakistan’s contribution was one of the few bright spots at the recently concluded virtual Climate Ambition Summit. Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that two major coal projects would be scrapped and declared the country will have no more “power based on coal” but instead build more hydropower. However, it became quickly apparent Khan’s statement will not affect the over 7,000 MW of coal power the country has recently built or is in the pipeline under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. The two coal power projects mentioned had already been scrapped…

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In early December 2020, ACPL concluded a multi-party agreement with PROTECH (as EPC contractor for the project), LONGi (as module supplier) and TBEA (as inverter supplier) along with Attock Energy (Private) Limited as lead consultant for erection, procurement and commissioning of the solar project. The project will be set up in Balochistan and is scheduled to commence operations in the second quarter of 2021. ACPL’s decision to partner with LONGi for its first PV power plant investment is one that was carefully considered and is therefore a clear indicator of…

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ISLAMABAD: A brief hiatus in oil smuggling due to the closure for a few days of the Pak-Iran border during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, badly affected the entire supply chain of petroleum products in Pakistan. The findings of an inquiry commission on the shortage of petroleum products states that the smuggling of Iranian oil is a reality. “The quantum of smuggling through the land route [is] approximated at Rs250 billion.” The report said the government must sensitise the concerned agency to take strict measures at the Pak-Iran…

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ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Petroleum Nadeem Babar has said that Pakistan would auction 20 new oil and gas exploration blocks during the next month as part of its strategy to achieve self-reliance in the energy sector. “Bids for the auction are expected to be held by mid-January to encourage exploration activities in the country,” he said in an interview with the Bloomberg, a US-based news agency. The SAPM said Pakistan, in collaboration with Russia, would start building a 1,100 kilometer (684 miles) gas pipeline to…

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SINGAPORE: Surging spot prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) are exacerbating a gas supply crunch in key fast-growing emerging markets in Asia just as a cold spell in other parts of the region boosts demand for the fuel. Companies from Pakistan to China have cancelled a flurry of LNG tenders this week, several trade sources said, as lofty prices risk pushing up the input costs of industries, which could make energy more expensive for consumers. Benchmark Asia spot LNG prices LNG-AS have soared sevenfold since May to six-year highs, driven…

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