The rudderless energy sector

The country’s print media this week brought to surface the prevailing state of affairs in the energy sector of the country, exposing the extent to which the sector has slid down. Some of the developments are rather very concerning — notably: — “Large Taxpayers Office (LTO), Karachi has attached all bank accounts of Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) to recover Rs 23 billion pending sales tax of which the tax department had successfully recovered Rs 312 million through bank account attachments. — “The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra)…

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Oil prices take breather as Russia advances further on Ukraine

Oil prices slipped on Friday, after sharp rises in the session, on concern over potential global supply disruptions from sanctions on major crude exporter Russia. The April Brent crude futures contract was down $0.33, or 0.3%, to $98.75 a barrel at 1045 GMT, after climbing to as high as $101.99. The more active May contract shed $0.4, or 0.4%, to $98.75. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude were down $0.3, or 0.3%, to $92.51 a barrel, after hitting a session high of $95.64. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday caused…

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Will Biden’s Freezing Of Oil And Gas Leases Exacerbate The Energy Crisis?

As oil prices continue to rocket, now further helped along by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration is still fighting tooth and nail to freeze new oil and gas drilling leases – even after a court ruled against the administration for using a metric to estimate “the societal cost of carbon emissions” to justify their move.  Despite the court’s ruling, Biden’s administration has stopped new leases and permits for federal oil and gas drilling, MSN reported this week.  The administration was previously prevented from using the “social cost of carbon”…

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Pakistan becomes first in South Asia to launch National Plastic Action Partnership

Pakistan in a landmark step has become the first country from South Asia to join the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP). British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner urged the government and individuals in Pakistan to contribute towards a better plastic economy and congratulated the country for launching the National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP). Taking to Twitter, Turner said, “I congratulate Pakistan for launching the National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP)”. As COP President, the UK hosted COP26 in Glasgow last November and a delegation from Pakistan, headed by Special Assistant…

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TRapid industrialization objective: Tarin says govt undertaking wholesale planning

Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has blamed previous governments in the last 45 years for de-industrialisation, and stated that the present government is undertaking a wholesale planning for industrialisation to achieve sustainable growth for the next 20 to 25 years. While addressing as chief guest at an event organised for improving investment in Pakistan – “Investment, Industrialization and Exports – Harmonizing Sectoral efforts for Growth” – in partnership with the Revenue Mobilisation, Investment and Trade Programme (REMIT), the finance minister blamed previous governments during the last 45 years for de-industrialisation and…

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