In the previous two columns, we laid out the agreed framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), trying to clear perceptual fog around this vital project, and recalling its immense scope and expanse. This column discusses the on-ground progress, vis-à-vis the ‘eight core areas’ of CPEC. First, the integrated transportation system. There are five road projects and two rail projects under this…
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Living the seventh year of sectoral sanctions that target its prospective oil and gas projects, Russia has grown accustomed to living under pressure. Sanctions have made it much more difficult to lend money, more difficult to secure viable partnerships and get access to state-of-the-art technologies. Going beyond the day-to-day challenges, there is one thing that has been missing from Russia’s…
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The recent $3 billion sale of Chile’s Compañía General de Electricidad to China’s State Grid Corporation brought total Chinese control of electricity transmission in Chile up to 57%. Similar PRC acquisitions and projects are currently being advanced in Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Honduras, Peru, and Columbia, where corporations are building hydropower, wind, and solar power stations. But China’s energy push into…
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Eni SPA E is planning to purchase oil and gas assets of BP plc BP in Algeria as part of efforts to realign their businesses to address the burdensome debt plaguing the companies amid climate pressures, per Reuters. Energy companies, which use carbon-intensive techniques for oil and gas exploration and production, are facing immense pressure from investors and activists to reduce emissions. Importantly, most companies…
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Half a century ago, in March 1971, Bangladesh’s founders declared their independence from richer and more powerful Pakistan. The country was born amid famine and war; millions fled to India or were killed by Pakistani soldiers. To the Pakistani military’s American backers, the new country seemed destined to fail: Henry Kissinger, then Secretary of State, famously called it a “basketcase.”…
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Chinese PV module maker Longi announced it was able to improve the efficiency of its tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell by 0.12% in just one month. According to the manufacturer, the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin (ISHF), Germany, has confirmed that the efficiency of its commercial-sized monocrystalline, n-type, bifacial product has been raised from 25.09% to 25.21%. No technical details were disclosed…
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Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Power and Petroleum has told The News that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not install a refinery at Gwadar but has indicated to set up a refinery along with a petrochemical chemical complex somewhere at Hub or near Karachi. “However, there is no mentionable progress from Aramco as to when and where the…
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KARACHI: Petrol sales hit an all-time high of 731,000 tonnes in May, up by 15 per cent over the same month last year, despite restricted movement of people due to early closure of markets by 6pm and long Eidul Fitr holidays. High-speed diesel (HSD) sales also remained brisk with 761,000 tonnes as compared to 688,000 tonnes in May 2020, up…
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ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Wednesday called for reducing the expenditures for the security of oil and gas fields and expeditious clearance of a law to create a separate regulator for the petroleum upstream sector to encourage investments in the oil and gas exploration. The ECC meeting presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin also…
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The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has lowered electricity prices for the month of April 2021 by Rs0.44 per unit under fuel price adjustment. NEPRA Chairman Tauseef H Farooqi announced this on Wednesday, saying: “A decline of Rs0.87 per unit was recommended for the month of April 2021, however, after deduction of dues amounting to Rs0.43 per unit, the…
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