Day: February 28, 2022

Crude oil futures leap in Asia as West imposes tougher sanctions on Russia

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Crude oil futures were sharply higher in mid-morning Asian trade Feb. 28 as Russia puts its nuclear deterrence force on alert following a new round of financial sanctions imposed on the country after its military advanced into Ukraine over the weekend. The US, Canada, and European allies on Feb. 26 imposed new financial sanctions on Russian banks, including curbing access to the SWIFT messaging system, but the specific measures and names of Russian banks have yet to be specified. “The massive escalation of sanctions notably by the EU, to cripple…

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Putin’s War In Ukraine Could Break The OPEC+ Alliance

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The OPEC+ cooperation is facing a possible breakdown following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s aggressive military moves towards Ukraine will have a negative impact on the oil market cooperation between OPEC and Russian-led non-OPEC members. The success formula of Riyadh-Moscow-Abu Dhabi is in serious trouble as Western powers will be putting Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and others, under severe pressure to break up their strategic cooperation with Moscow.  The growing economic, financial and strategic military cooperation that has been built up the last couple of years between mainstream Arab…

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SECMC cuts power generation expansion plans by half

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THAR: Pakistan has witnessed a mushroom growth of electricity generating facilities in the last decade, but inefficient power evacuation networks, over-generation capacity and overloaded transmission systems are forcing the producers to downsize their planned expansions. The Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) is among those major players, which has slashed its initial plan of installing 5,280MW power generation plants in Thar Block-II by 50 per cent to 2,640MW. The company is the operator of a coal mine in Thar Block-II and the mine-mouth power plants. It has already commissioned 2x330MW units in…

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China-Pakistan Civil Nuclear Cooperation

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The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and China Zhogyuan Engineering Cooperation signed a “Framework Agreement on Deepening Nuclear Energy Cooperation”  in September 2021, but such nuclear cooperation dates back to the late 1970s.  There has been a lengthy history of nuclear cooperation between China and Pakistan. Nuclear cooperation is aimed towards country development under IAEA norms. Pakistan and China have never engaged in a nuclear arms race. Pakistan is seeking nuclear cooperation with China largely to meet its own energy needs. Nuclear cooperation between the two nations aids in the growth…

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The hardest hit

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The global wave of inflation has hit Pakistan hard. The low-income segment of the society has particularly been affected by the sharp rise in the prices of basic kitchen items. The average inflation based on the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) increased 18.09 per cent on a year-on-year basis by the week ended February 18, 2020, but, for the lowest income group, it turns out to be 19.40 per cent. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) issues SPI on a weekly basis to monitor the prices of 52 essential items with…

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Market guru

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Weighted average cost of gas (WACOG) Bill is a positive sign for Pakistan, as it would ensure gas availability across all sectors countering the impact of depleting domestic gas reserves. Under the new pricing mechanism, the ratio of supply of local gas and the liquefied natural gas (LNG) would change to 50/50 from the current 70/30 in two years and 80/20 in the long run. Descon Oxychem and Sitara Peroxide meet their feed requirement via imported RLNG. This would decrease the cost for the companies by 35 per cent. Further, HP…

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Renewable energy projects: Mian Anjum for early completion

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solar-wind

The Businessmen Panel (BMP) of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Sunday called for early completion of renewable energy projects, besides removing the hindrances to avoid delay, as the execution of several wind, solar and hydel power projects are getting delayed. The Businessmen Panel (BMP) Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar warned the government of the impediments including land acquisition, financial flows, Covid-19, and emerging security scenario, causing delays and cost escalations to the Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand Dams, affecting the timeliness set for completion of the projects.…

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PPL – profits up in 1HFY22

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petrol

Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PSX: PPL) announced its financial performance for 1HFY22 last week where its earnings for the six-month period were seen increasing by 21 percent year-on-year. The same was seen growing by 24 percent year-on-year in 2QFY22. The growth in bottom line was however not due to higher oil and gas production. Though PPL is an aggressive E&P sector giant, the declining reserves and small discoveries in general in the upstream oil and gas sector in the country have been stagnating crude oil and gas exploration and production. During…

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