Year: 2021

Mining: an engine of progress

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We grew up hearing about abundance of minerals in Pakistan and their potential to bring economic change to the country. However, so far we have not really been able to harness them to bring that change. While they remained mostly buried below the ground, the country kept on sinking in the quagmire of debt which stood at $276 billion as of June 2020. In addition to the heavy debt, the country is embroiled in many other social and economic issues. This makes it imperative to look for all options for…

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Petroleum prices go up for fifth straight fortnight

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ISLAMABAD: For the fifth fortnight in a row, the government on Sunday increased the prices of all petroleum products by 2.5 per cent to 4.6pc for the next 15 days. According to an announcement by the Prime Minister Office, the ex-depot prices of high speed diesel (HSD) and petrol were increased by Rs2.88 and Rs2.70 per litre, respectively. The prices of kerosene and light diesel oil (LDO) were jacked up by Rs3.54 and Rs3per litre, respectively. As such, the ex-depot price of HSD rose to Rs116.07 per litre from Rs113.19,…

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Aramco, STC & Huawei to study 5G uses in oil & gas

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STC and its partner in 5G network deployment in the Middle East, Huawei, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Aramco to launch a joint innovation program to study the application of 5G technology in the oil and gas industry and develop solutions. The MoU is expected to fuel economic growth and societal benefits in the Kingdom and around the world. Aramco and STC have reached a consensus that 5G is a key technology for the fourth industrial revolution and digital transformation in the oil and gas industry.…

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660MW coal power plant faces delay

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The beginning of commercial production by Lucky Cement’s 660-megawatt local coal-fired power project worth over $1 billion has faced a delay of around five months due to inability of the government to finish construction of transmission lines on time in the wake of Covid-19. The company has, however, refused to accept excuses from government agencies responsible to build the required power transmission infrastructure. In this regard, it has remained under contract with the authorities to launch commercial operation of the project by the middle of first quarter (Jul-Sept 2021) of…

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Divestment of Mari shares hits snag

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ISLAMABAD:ISLAMABAD:ISLAMABAD:The divestment of government of Pakistan’s remaining shares in Mari Petroleum has been held back due to observations made by the anticorruption watchdog. Sources told The Express Tribune that a meeting was held in the first week of January at the Privatisation Commission to discuss the divestment of Mari Petroleum’s shares. The meeting was chaired by the privatisation minister and attended by officials of the Petroleum Division as well as others. The participants were apprised that in a meeting held on August 5, 2019, both joint venture partners – Fauji…

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