Pakistan’s installed power capacity soars

With a slump in demand on account of Covid-19, Pakistan’s installed capacity of electricity would jump to 41,335 Megawatt (MW), adding more woes on account of power tariff increase due to higher capacity payments and lower plant utilisation factors. According to energy experts, most of the power plants would remain idle due to low demand of electricity in Pakistan following coronavirus-fuelled economic recession. This situation would lead to additional burden of capacity payments in the form of hike in electricity rates. According to Covid-19 Responsive Annual Plan 2020-21, Pakistan’s power…

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Coal use in Pakistan’s energy mix negligible

The recently released Economic Survey 2019-20 has noted that the use of coal in Pakistan’s energy mix is currently negligible and the government is focused on increasing its contribution to 30% by the year 2030. According to the report, Sindh has an estimated 185 billion tons of coal reserves in Lakhra, east of Indus, and Thar. Based on official figures, Pakistan has the potential to generate 100,000 megawatts of electricity for the next several decades from Thar coal alone, which can result in annual savings of up to $1 billion…

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Oil prices rise on supply cuts, improving demand

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with Brent crude rising above $40 a barrel as the International Energy Agency (IEA) increased its oil demand forecast for 2020 and as record supply cuts supported. Brent crude LCOc1 rose $0.77, or 1.94%, at $40.49 a barrel by 0918 GMT. US oil CLc1 gained 61 cents, or 1.64%, to $37.73 a barrel. In its monthly report on Tuesday, the IEA forecast oil demand at 91.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020, 500,000 bpd higher than its estimate in May’s report, citing higher-than-expected consumption…

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Federal cabinet decides to resume phase-wise int’l flights to repatriate overseas Pakistanis

The federal cabinet decided on Tuesday to resume phase-wise international flights for repatriation of overseas Pakistani nationals. During the meeting, presided by Prime Minister Imran Khan, relevant authorises were directed to make an ‘action-plan’ regarding flight operations. The premier said that overseas Pakistani nationals would not be left alone in this difficult time. “Millions of citizens had lost their jobs due to the pandemic and that the government is ready to help its compatriots.” It has has been decided that unemployed workers and labourers would be repatriated in the initial…

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The End Of The OPEC Deal Could Be The Start Of A New Oil Price War

Few markets have been hit harder by coronavirus than United States shale. While global oil prices as a whole have taken quite a beating from a fall in oil demand, a deficit of oil storage, and an oil-price war between the OPEC+ leading members of Saudi Arabia and Russia, the Brent international crude benchmark never went negative. In the United States, it was a different story. Not only did the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude benchmark dip below zero on April 20, it plummeted to nearly $40 below zero per…

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