Month: August 2020

Turkey’s pursuit of contested oil and gas reserves has ramifications ‘well beyond’ the region

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An intensifying dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean over oil and gas exploration rights at sea has seen tensions flare between Turkey and Greece, with one regional expert describing the situation as the “most dangerous” in years. Turkey and Greece, both members of NATO, are at loggerheads over competing claims to energy reserves in contested Eastern Mediterranean waters. The countries and territories of this region include Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Libya. Last week, Turkey sent the Oruc Reis survey vessel, escorted by warships, to conduct…

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Pending dues, tariff adjustments

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ISLAMABAD: Karachi Electric (KE) has decided to make a public appeal to the federal government for clearance of its pending dues immediately and adjustment in its tariff, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. Karachi’s power tariff is Rs 2.89/unit less than the rest of the country and must be brought in line with the prevalent Uniform Tariff Policy across Pakistan. The sources said K-Electric will invest $ 2 billion over the next three years across its power value chain, including a 900 MW RLNG-fired power plant. However, financial viability is a critical component of continued investments.…

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China pivots to old ally Pakistan for coal after Australia spat

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KARACHI — As tensions grow between China and Australia, the superpower’s main coal supplier, work is being stepped up in Pakistan’s largest coalfield on a project conceived to feed local power plants, but which some experts believe might provide Beijing with an option for an alternative source of coal.  After months of delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some 500 employees of Shanghai Electric Power arrived in Pakistan earlier this month to work on the $1.9 billion Thar Block-I integrated coal mine and power project located in the country’s southeastern desert region of…

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CDWP Defers approval of scheme for Dasu project

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ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Wednesday deferred approval of Rs132 billion plan for power evacuation from the Dasu hydropower project after a cost overrun of almost 46 per cent, but cleared four other development schemes having a total estimated cost of about Rs126bn. The meeting of the CDWP was presided over by the Planning Commission’s deputy chairman, Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan. The meeting also deferred approval of a $200 million World Bank-funded “Pakistan Goes Global” project and asked the authorities to address technical objections. Officials said the evacuation…

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Dissecting the IPP agreement

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The writer is a former member of the Energy Planning Commission and author of ‘Pakistan’s Energy Issues: Success and Challenges’. Recently an agreement has been signed between a section of IPPs and the government towards resolving the undue and high cost of generation charged by the IPPs. Two separate agreements have been made, one with Wind IPPs and the other with Furnace Oil IPPs (FOIPP). There has been a mixed reaction from experts/analysts. The most extensive agreement that has been made is with Wind IPPs and the most egregious and…

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