Month: September 2020

Tesla is in talks with Canada’s Giga Metals to potentially help it develop a nickel mine and buy the low-emissions nickel production for its batteries, Reuters reported on Friday, quoting three sources with knowledge of the discussions. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has recently asked miners to mine more nickel, preferably in an environmentally-friendly way, as Tesla and other automakers are ramping up production of electric vehicles and unveiling new models. “I’d just like to reemphasize, any mining companies out there, please mine more nickel, OK?” Musk said on Tesla’s Q2 earnings call at the…

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has delayed its plan to hedge petroleum prices as experts have advised the government to stay away from materialising its hedging strategy while prices of petroleum products remain volatile. In a cabinet meeting held in March this year, Pakistan had decided to come up with an oil hedging plan in the wake of a tug of war between Saudi Arabia and Russia over global oil production, coupled with the rapid spread of the coronavirus, which sent crude prices crashing to a 17-year low in the global market. Sources…

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KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has stayed the collection of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) on feedstock supply from fertiliser plants established under Fertilizer Policy 2001. Fertiliser manufacturers had challenged the imposition of GIDC on gas supplied under a fixed price gas sale and purchase agreement dated April 11, 2007. The government in order to encourage investment in new fertiliser plants had announced the Fertiliser Policy 2001, in which it guaranteed that feed stock gas to new plants including Enven and Fatima Fertilizers would be provided at a fixed price…

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Last summer, oil and gas-industry groups were lobbying to overturn federal rules on leaks of natural gas, a major contributor to climate change. Their message: The companies had emissions under control. In private, the lobbyists were saying something very different. At a discussion convened last year by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, a group that represents energy companies, participants worried that producers were intentionally flaring, or burning off, far too much natural gas, threatening the industry’s image, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by The New York…

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LAHORE: Pakistan’s post-pandemic economic performance looked better than its regional competitors because the GDP of the country had already shrunk by 15 percent pre-pandemic. Accumulated demand after lockdown created economic activity. The central bank also provided unusual support in the form of low interest loans to businesses for payment of salaries to their employees. There loan servicing was also deferred. Power and gas tariff were put on hold and interest rates were cut to 7 percent from 13.25 percent although the inflation is still hovering above 9 percent. The government…

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