March 3, 2021 - Energy Update

Australia Boosts LNG Spending To Compete With Qatar

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Admin

Australia’s LNG operators are set to approve gas drilling and LNG infill projects worth more than US$10 billion this year in a bid to stay competitive in a very dynamic global marketplace Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) developers look ready to shrug off a difficult 2020 by significantly boosting spending on major new projects this year. Following slashed capital expenditure and deferred gas project sanctioning last year, Australia’s LNG operators are set to approve gas drilling and LNG infill projects worth more than US$10 billion this year. New projects are…

Power sector marching towards unresolvable problems’

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Admin

Chairman of National Business Group and President of Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum Mian Zahid Hussain has said that the power sector may crumble under the burden of defective planning and wrong contracts, and the business community hope that China will bail out Pakistan from this mess. He said the power sector was marching towards un-resolvable problems while Prime Minister Imran Khan and COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa were trying their best to tackle the issue which was highly laudable. Mian Zahid Hussain said that the government had completed talks with…

Unsavoury truths about power tariffs’ – II

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Admin

Higher tariff simply because of inefficiency is ensuring corruption all the way and we are doomed! We have ensured total collapse of our affordable energy sector. We had natural gas, an economical and eco-friendly source of energy, which we wasted callously and now find no option but to import expensive LNG and yet we refuse to ensure efficient consumption. Whereas efficient systems could reduce both costs and global “weirding” (climate change causing weather-related extremes), we are opting for inefficient and expensive energy, killing most opportunities in this competitive world. How…

Govt may extend contract of Member Nepra Punjab

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Admin

ISLAMABAD: The federal government is likely to extend contract of Saifullah Chattha, Member Nepra Punjab for one year, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. Chattha, who is former Secretary Water and Power, has rich experience in the energy sector and government wants him to stay for another year. The sources said that the Punjab government has prepared a summary for the federal government requesting that the term of Chattha be extended for another year. His four-year term is expiring this week. The sources maintained that as the summary of the Punjab…

CO2 Pollution Bounces Back, Climate Goals At Risk: IEA

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Admin

Paris, March 2 (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 2nd Mar, 2021 ) :Global CO2 emissions have returned to pre-pandemic levels and then some, threatening to put climate treaty targets for capping global warming out of reach, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday. Energy-related emissions were two percent higher in December 2020 than in the same month a year earlier, driven by economic recovery and a lack of clean energy policies, the IEA said in a report. “The rebound in global carbon emissions toward the end of last…

Ban slapped on sale of land for Balakot power project

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Admin

MANSEHRA: The district administration has imposed Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, banning the sale, purchase and transfer of land to be acquired for the Balakot hydropower project. “We have already met all legal formalities to acquire over 1,700 kanals of land for the Rs85 billion Balakot power project in Kaghan valley and this process will be completed shortly,” deputy commissioner Dr Qasim Ali Khan told energy minister Himayatullah Khan here on Tuesday. Led by the minister and having energy secretary Mohammad Zubair as member, a delegation of…

SPL posts loss after tax of Rs4,821m for FY2020

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Admin

KARACHI: The Board of Directors of Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL) announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2020. The company posted a loss after tax of Rs 4,821 million for 2020 compared to the loss of Rs 1,485 million in 2019. The second half of 2020 saw significant recovery with a profit after tax in comparison to a very tough first half of the year primarily affected by the global pandemic resulting in declining fuels market and volatility in the international oil prices. Shell Pakistan recognises the government’s…

K-2 achieves criticality

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Admin

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) on Tuesday announced it had achieved criticality of its 1,100MW nuclear power station in Karachi, one of the two major nuclear plants in the city. The commission said the 1,100MW plant, called K-2, would go through certain safety tests and procedures before it is connected to the national grid by the end of March. K-2 is one of the two similar under-construction nuclear power plants (NPPs) located near Karachi and will be inaugurated for commercial operation by the end of May this year.…

NEECA to provide knowledge on energy efficiency, conservation

March 3, 2021 Admin

The National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA) can help improve existing boilers and provide sufficient knowledge regarding energy efficiency and conservation. This was stated by participants at a webinar hosted by NEECA on Industrial Boilers’ best practices for Efficient Operations. The webinar was intended to open the platform for Industrial associations, policymakers, new technology, and concerned stakeholders, for generating the debate on Energy efficiency-related interventions in Pakistan. The objective of the discussion was to gauge and influence the interest of the manufacturers to help in promoting energy efficiency &…

Govt to amend OGRA ordinance

March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 Admin

The government is likely to introduce amendments to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Ordinance 2002 for provinces to have representation in the regulatory body. According to a report by a local media outlet, the government, under the amendments, will appoint a vice chairman on rotation from amongst OGRA members of each province for a period of one year. At present, the authority has a chairman and three members – oil, gas and finance. In this regard, the Punjab government has opposed the extension in tenures of hired officials, adding that…