Year: 2021

Pakistan has announced that it will auction highly lucrative oil and gas exploration blocks, mainly the ones earlier awarded to exploration firms but their deals were later cancelled or remained under litigation, by the end of the year in an effort to increase hydrocarbon production. This would also help reduce the country’s reliance on expensive imported fuels. The government unveiled the strategy to increase local production and overcome energy scarcity after booking four import cargoes (ships) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at a high price of over $15 per million…

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The government has put the appointment of Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) chief executive officer (CEO) on hold following its merger with Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB). Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the Power Division to expedite the legislative process for merger of AEDB with PPIB. The Power division said that hiring of the AEDB CEO is not feasible from open market at this stage of merging the two entities. The Power Division briefed the cabinet in a recent meeting that the AEDB was a statutory organisation…

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Cement industry is the single largest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Pakistan, according to a research study released on Friday. Prepared by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), an independent European environmental think tank, the study shows that CO2 emissions from the consumption of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal in Pakistan have more than doubled in the last two decades. Speaking at the virtual launch of the study organised jointly by CREA and the Alliance for Climate Justice and Clean Energy…

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Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar thanked the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan on Friday for “normalising” electricity supply to the bordering districts of Balochistan. “I am grateful to the Ambassador of Iran in Pakistan for promptly accepting my request and normalising the flow of electricity to the Makran division,” he said in a tweet. Gwadar, Turbat and Makran have been facing extensive power cuts for more than a week. These areas are not part of the national grid and, therefore, rely on electricity imported from Iran. The neighbouring country curtailed…

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The government on Friday conceded purchasing expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the spot market as ‘a lesser evil’, saying no body without a crystal ball could perfectly time or beat international commodity market. “Pakistan LNG Ltd (PLL) board was forced to accept the four LNG ‘spot’ tenders at $15 per mmBtu for September 2021; otherwise, the replacement fuel (ie furnace oil), which is even more expensive, would have resulted in September power prices higher by at least 20 per cent,” said a statement issued by the Petroleum Division. The…

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