Year: 2021

China eyes Afghanistan’s trillion-dollar mineral deposits

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DAYS AFTER THE Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund halted the flow of hundreds of million dollars into the country. The central bank had around $9 billion in reserves. But, most of it was held in the US and was frozen. In short, the Taliban was left without capital to run the country. But, not many know that the country has mineral deposits worth $1 trillion or more, including rare earth minerals. It supposedly has the world’s largest reserves of lithium. However, the Taliban…

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80 percent of Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production remains offline post-Ida

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Four fifths of the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas production remains offline due to Hurricane Ida, one of the biggest storms to hit the US in the past 150 years. Almost 1.5 million barrels per day of oil and 1.9 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas output was shut in as of Wednesday,the US Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement said. That represents 17 percent of total oil production in the US, and 5 percent of the natural gas output, while about 45 percent of the US’s…

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Methodology for strategic projects: PD asked to consult provinces

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The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) has directed Power Division to develop methodology and criteria for strategic projects in consultation with the provinces under the National Electricity Plan within two months, official sources told Business Recorder. The Committee which approved Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan on August 26, 2021, has not given any decision on category-III RE projects and directed Law & Justice Division to finalize its advice regarding category-III RE projects before next Cabinet meeting. The Committee which was presided over by Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives…

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Govt dream to utilise excess capacity of new FSRU in tatters

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The PTI government’s dream to utilise the excess capacity of 150mmcfd on Engro LNG terminal in winter season is in tatters as the Engro Elengy Terminal Limited (EEPTL) here on Thursday told the Petroleum Division in plain words if the government wants to utilize the excess capacity of 150mmcfd of the existing state-of-the-art FSRU Sequoia, then Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) will have to extend till today (Friday) the two-year waiver on its buy option rights over FSRU Exquisite. In a letter, EETPL CEO Yusuf Siddiqui wrote on Thursday to…

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Ministry settles decade-old deemed duty issue

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The Petroleum Division has settled over a decade-old controversy about deemed duty collected by refineries, saying that they have invested Rs200 billion in projects. The ministry said that they had collected Rs200 billion and invested the same amount in their projects. The deemed duty collection has been a controversial subject for the refineries. Critics have said that they received billions of rupees but did not invest in plant upgrades. The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) has raised several questions over the proposed Refinery Policy 2021. The major question is how…

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