Month: December 2020

Punjab’s Smoking Basket

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Long considered to be the ‘food basket’ of South Asia, Punjab is the most agriculturally productive region in the Indo-Gangetic plain. Unlike the spring harvest which brings beautiful colours and festivals such as the Baisakhi Mela, the autumn harvest results in a gloomy ambience, which engulfs the region in hazardous smog. The R-Smog Report of 2018 indicates that air pollution in Punjab originating from vehicular traffic and industrial emissions is reaching its peak – emanating from agricultural sources and meteorological conditions during the October and November harvests, giving rise to low hanging air…

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Govt to appoint CEOs of Discos, MDs of gas utilities

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This comes on the heels of over Rs2.3 trillion circular debt in the power sector as of Sept 30, 2020, and about Rs350bn circular debt in the gas utilities — Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) — up from Rs1.2tr and about Rs120bn in 2018, respectively. The federal cabinet will meet on Tuesday. Prime Minister Imran Khan will preside over the meeting that has seven agenda items relating to filling of top positions — chief executives, managing directors and boards of directors —…

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Iran Expects To Sell 2.3 Million Bpd In 2021

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Iranian authorities seem confident they could be able to sell as much as 2.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in the next Iranian year that begins in March 2021, according to Iran’s budget bill. The bill, which has been recently submitted for discussion and approval at the Iranian Parliament, assumes that Iran will get revenues from the sale of 2.3 million bpd of oil in the year starting in March. Iran last exported that much oil in the early spring of 2018, before U.S. President Donald Trump pulled…

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China Looks To Boost Shale Gas Development

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China is looking to attract investments in shale gas developments by easing restrictions on foreign entities and subsidizing costs in a bid to boost its natural gas production while its demand continues to grow. China has shale gas reserves but the geology to extract those resources is challenging, so it is not clear if the incentives will attract major international oil companies, Argus reports. The province of Guizhou has recently offered six exploration blocks for shale gas reserves, but the bids were much lower than those offered in a similar…

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Solar Energy Boom Fuels Demand For Silver

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Saxo Bank projects silver will soar to a record $50 an ounce in 2021, powered by loose Federal Reserve monetary policy and a weak dollar, and turbocharged by surging demand for the white metal in the solar energy sector. According to the Saxo Bank report, the “usual suspects” will continue to power silver upward, referring to the extraordinary monetary policy we’ve seen in response to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Saxo analysts expect the US dollar to continue to weaken even as the pandemic eases with the rollout of a vaccine next year. The…

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