The Energy Sector

[mintgum84]

what is its status?

[Strong Hearted]

Originally Posted by mintgum84

what is its status?

its U/C and 30% work has been done. expected completion time is in 2016

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project likely to be completed by 2014: Hina Rabbani

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Monday reiterated government’s commitment to go ahead on Pakistan Iran Gas Pipeline Project and said the project is likely to be completed by the year 2014.“The Pakistan Iran Gas Pipeline Project is in national interest and the government has decided to fast track on it,” she said replying to a calling attention notice in the National Assembly.

“The project will help meet Pakistan’s energy deficit to a great extent.The feasibility work has been completed and the government is trying hard to start work on this vital project as soon as possible,” the minister added.

She brushed aside the apprehensions that the US sanctions on Iran would affect the Project saying, “these sanctions are primarily related to oil and not gas.”

Some sanctions on Iran, she said were emanating from the UN, which were mandatory to follow. While, unilateral sanctions such as imposed by the US and European Union were not obligatory to follow.

Hina Rabbani Khar said that Pakistan was working on the project in accordance with the schedule and given deadline.

To a query she said that initially India was part of the project, but later it pulled out of it (project) either due to some pressure or other reasons. “But Pakistan despite all the things decided to go ahead on the project as it is in our national interest,” she added.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Underground coal gasification off to promising start in Thar


The complex network of pipelines is in fact the work of Pakistani scientists and engineers who are working on the Underground Coal Gasification project.

The red and blue interconnected pipeline network, with a state of the art infrastructure right in the heart of desert is not what one expects to see in the Thar desert. At first sight, it gives the impression that some multinational corporation is drilling oil in the sands of Thar.

But this complex network of pipelines is in fact the work of Pakistani scientists and engineers who are working on the Underground Coal Gasification project, designed to generate cheap electricity. After the successful experiment of extracting gas in December 2011, the beaming team of scientists is confident that it will successfully produce 100 megawatts of electricity through a pilot project by the end of 2013.

The project had been subjected to considerable scepticism, with many suggesting that the country simply did not have the expertise to run such a complex project. Others argued that Pakistani coal may not be suited for gasification. The scientific team at Thar, however, believes they have proven their critics wrong. In December 2011, they successfully light the first chimney using the coal, an achievement that took about a year’s worth of effort.

Muhammad Shabbir, the head of the team in Thar, said that the project is running on the right track and will be able to produce 100 MW of electricity in the desired period.

Shabbir, a nuclear scientist by training, says his team can produce over 2 billion cubic feet of gas by replicating its current model. That amount is equal to the current shortfall of gas in Pakistan. “If we get $1.1 billion in funds, we can end the present gas shortage in the country,” said Shabbir.

His team is working on Block V in Thar, a 64-square kilometre area that is estimated to have about 1.4 billion tons in coal reserves. Shabbir estimates that his team can use those reserves to generate about 10,000 megawatts of electricity for about 30 years.

The team claims that their costs will be some of the cheapest in the world because the underground coal gasification process does not require the coal to be mined. Meanwhile, the advent of a team of nuclear scientists working on solving the country’s energy crisis appears to have been good for the neighbourhood. The project team has set up a water pump that can supply up to 600 litres of water per minute to the neighbouring villages, saving them the trouble of giving to look for water for their own consumption and for their crops and animals.

“We have lived in this land for centuries without any change in our living habits. Now that we have drinkable water at this site, we may not leave this place for years,” said an old man, whose home was around 50 metres away from the site.

The availability of water, as well as doctors, has begun to make the project site something of a magnet for people in the region.

“We welcome these outsiders since they have never interfered in their lives. Instead, they have helped them a lot because many have got jobs and most importantly water – the source of life in the vast Thar desert.”

[mintgum84]

May the progress in Thar continue.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

2 wind energy projects to be completed by end of 2012

Two wind energy projects that will produce 400MW of electricity will become operational by the end of 2012, said Arif Alauddin, CEO of Pakistan’s Alternate Energy Development Board.

Pakistan is calling 2012 the year for wind energy and investors have pledged US $500m (Rs. 45.1 billion) in investment projects to Pakistan, said Alauddin, according to a press release.

“The two projects in Jhimpir and Gharo (in Thatta District) will be added to national grid by the end of 2012,” Alauddin said.

[mintgum84]

Aladdin should just get genie to help.

[khanzada]

A solar Panel donated by German Govt in Sindh Province.

[taseer121]

Karachi

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) will construct a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant adjacent to Kanupp in seven years’ time, and will launch the project in the coming financial year.

This was stated by Minister for Power, Shazia Marri as per the information provided to Sindh Assembly by the PAEC during a session here on Friday. Responding to a question by Heer Soho, Marri said that the PAEC also planned to construct more nuclear power plants in the province.

Jam Tamachi said that Wapda had been unfair to Sindh as it had completed three hydropower projects in Punjab, but the one in Sindh had been in the cold storage for the last 22 years. Marri said that since the bar on the provinces to set up power plants had been removed after the 18th Amendment, the provincial government had identified four sites for hydropower plants, apart from the one in Guddu.

KESC AND HESCO BILLS: Responding to questions over discrepancies in power bills, the minister said that if the KESC failed to respond to the complaints of any consumer to their satisfaction within seven days, government inspectors were entitled to conduct a hearing and sort out the problem.

However, the minister’s response failed to satisfy several legislators. Khalid Ahmed said that the KESC had been sending bills based on average consumption of electricity, a practice which the MPA termed illegal.

Quoting an example of claims and counterclaims vis-à-vis power bills, Heer Soho said the KESC had cut off the power supply to the Sindh Secretariat the other day, claiming that the secretariat owed the power utility Rs250 million, whereas the government’s contention was that the original bill amounted to Rs110 millions.

Jam Tamachi said Hesco and Wapda had been serving their customers with inflated bills for over a decade. The power minister acknowledged the existence of the problem.

Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah said Hesco and Wapda had claimed that the Sindh government offices owed them Rs32 billion, whereas on checking it turned out that the government owed them only Rs3.9 billion.

Law and order to be restored in SU: Minister for Law, Muhammad Ayaz Soomro, on Friday informed the Provincial Assembly of Sindh that the chief minister had summoned the vice-chancellor of Sindh University to end the anxiety felt by the faculty over the murder of one of their colleagues, Prof. Bashir Channar.

Responding to a point of order raised by Dr Sikander Shoro over the killing of the professor and the subsequent suspension of academic activities by the faculty, the law minister said an FIR into the murder had been lodged.

If the heirs of the victim or the faculty of the university wanted to nominate an honest police officer for conducting the inquiry into the killing, the government would readily oblige them.

When the PA was expressing concerns over the security situation, the faculty of the Sindh University was protesting outside the Karachi Press Club to draw the attention of the authorities towards the deteriorating security situation at the university.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Any idea what will be the cost per unit of electricity from Nuclear power plant???

[brightside.]

Where does Pakistan obtain its uranium from? Given that the corrupt NSG will not sell any nuclear fuel to us. Uranium is required to run nuke plants. Having said that, I'm glad they're going to build more of these.

[brightside.]

Interestingly, the nuke plant by the sea near mubarak village will cause the need to evacuate much of Karachi if a tsunami hits it.

[mintgum84]

Hopefully, that wont happen.

As for Uranium, does Pakistan not mine its own?

If not, China is probably our supplier.

[Strong Hearted]

This page shows the details of Uranium production worldwide, and Pakistan produces an average 45 tons of Uranium/year

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Thar coal can energize Pakistan

Energy is considered as lifeline of a country’s socio-economic and human development but its scarcity results in grinding halt to almost every sector of life. Pakistan like other Asian countries is also faced with acute energy shortage, especially of electricity, the main source of energy. The electricity crisis did not emerge overnight because the issue had been prevailing since 2006 following the previous regime’s least interest to address this grave public and country’s problem.

Currently, Pakistan is dependent up to 60 percent of electricity generation through oil and gas that proved to be very expensive, owing to ever increasing prices of petroleum in the international market, and this phenomenon enlarged the ‘circular debt’ (a chain of furnace oil and generated electricity payments between generation companies and PEPCO, and oil companies and PEPCO) that ultimately left the electricity managers with no other option but to raise the power tariff for consumers. In addition to increasing electricity through hydel component, a very in-expensive energy source, the government is also focused on exploiting potential of other indigenous resources like wind, solar and coal on priority basis, before stepping ahead for electricity import from neighbouring countries. After hydropower, the coal is another economically viable and long-term solution to balance the demand and supply chain of electricity in the country. We are the luckiest that Allah Almighty has also blessed Pakistan with ample deposits of this ‘black gold’ measured up to 185 billion tones. Out of these black treasures, 3.3 billion tones are in proven/measured category and about 11 billion are indicated reserves, however, its bulk found in Sindh. The Thar Desert in Sindh province contains the largest coal deposit of about 850 trillion cubic feet spanning over 10,000 square kilometers, which is more than oil reserves in Saudi Arabia and Iran having collective quantity of approximately 375 billion barrels. As per the recent statistics worked out by the energy experts, the country’s energy demand would cross the figure of 100,000 MW by the year 2030.

In the given energy scenario in Pakistan, coal is the only available indigenous and inexpensive alternate resource, which has the potential to not only to ensure self-sufficiency in energy sector but also turn Pakistan into a power exporting country. Globally, the coal component contributes 41 percent in electricity generation. The UK generates 16 percent share of electricity through coal, China 67 percent, Canada 24 percent, India 64.6 percent and Pakistan only 2.27 percent. The experts are of the view that only two percent of the Thar Coal can generate 20,000 MW of electricity for next 40 years without a single second of load-shedding, and one can well measure that how much energy Pakistan would have on utilization of the entire coal reserve. While, the coal power generation will cost PKR 5.67 per unit against Rs 9.27 by the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) In the government’s efforts for energy enhancement, the PEPCO has a pivotal role to do away with this dilemma by adopting all possible measures. While, Pakistan has tasked Dr Samar Mubarakmand to play a key role in enhancing the energy efficiency of coal and taking all possible measures to ensure coal power generation at larger scale.

A 50 MW project of Underground Coal Gasification (UGC) has successfully been operational and government has also approved Rs 900 million for another 100 MW Thar Coal Gasification project. Pakistan‘s coal power generation is expected to increase up to 20,000 MW under the Vision-2030 Strategic Plan, and the share of coal in energy mix is likely to increase by 19 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050. At the International Coal Conference 2011, the Pakistan Government had invited the local and foreign investors to come forward to invest in the Pakistan’s coal power projects, as Pakistan initially required $ 1.2 billion loan annually to build power generation infrastructure in Thar Desert. The govt has also devised a plan to generate 10,000 MW of electricity from Thar Coal by the year 2020. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is keen to finance for transmission lines from Thar Coal field to national grid with the help of NTDCL.

Sindh Coal and Energy Department has been able to attract two large Chinese energy companies like China Three Georges Corporation and Orient Group in Thar Coal Projects and also signed memorandum of understating (MoU) with them. Both companies have shown interest in developing coal-based power plants in Thar and Badin coal fields as well. Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) has completed a feasibility report by engaging world renowned company RWE of Germany and Sinocoal of China for coal plants. The first Mine and Power plant is expected to be commissioned by 2015-16 with an estimated cost of $ 3.6 billion. Besides, various institutions are collaborating under Thar Coal Energy Board led by Sindh Chief Minister to maximize coal power in Thar to reduce dependency on oil import for power generation. Since Pakistan has no new mega hydel power project to be ready for generation in near future, the coal could prove to be an ultimate solution to end the persisting energy shortfall.

[hAmZ]

great thanks for sharing

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Senate question-hour: ‘Fresh plans for early completion of dams’

Water and power minister updates Senate on projects’ progress.

The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has chalked out fresh plans for early completion of a number of dams in the country, Water and Power Minister Naveed Qamar told the Senate on Friday.

The plan will lead to early completion of Mangla dam raising project and the Gomal Zam dam, Qamar said.

Land has been acquired for the 4,500 MW Diamer Bhasha dam and construction work will start soon, the minister said in response to a query by Awami National Party (ANP) leader Haji Adil.

He added that compensation to some of the people affected by the 83.4 MW Kurram Tangi dam has already been paid while construction work on it will start in March 2012, and is expected to be completed in three years.

ANP senator Zahid Khan criticised the government for not starting work on large dams earlier.

Qamar added that appointment of consultant for the 740 MW Munda dam will be made within a week, and work on its construction will start soon.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

China plans to invest $10 billion in Pakistan’s energy sector

China’s state-owned Three Gorges Corp. plans to invest $10 billion by 2018 in Pakistan’s energy sector and a delegation is scheduled to visit Pakistan on February 7, officials said on Friday.

The Hong Kong-based United Energy Group Limited of China also intends to establish a 2,000 megawatts power project in Sindh as their delegation is also visiting Pakistan next month to hold further talks on setting up the power projects, they said.

Sindh Coal and Energy Department has signed memorandums of understating (MoU) with the two companies, which have shown interest in developing coal-fired power plants in Thar and Badin coal fields, as well, the officials said.

In an attempt to resolve the issue, the government is pinning hopes on Thar Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) pilot project, which contains the country’s largest coal deposits of around 850 trillion cubic feet spanning over 3,800 square miles, they said.

Overall, according to the World Energy Council, Pakistan has slightly more than 2,000 million tons of proven recoverable coal reserves.

Pakistan’s current electricity demand is around 25,000 megawatts per day, but the current electrical production is less than 20,000 megawatts per day, leaving a deficit of slightly more than 5,000 megawatts, and by 2015, domestic demand is projected to rise to 30,000 megawatts per day.

Currently, the country depends on oil and natural gas to generate up to 60 percent of its electricity needs, further impacting the country’s balance of payments as the price of oil rises and the ongoing power shortages are beginning to impact the country’s bottom-line exports, the officials said.

Member of the Science and Technology Planning Commission, Dr Samar Mubarakmand, has said that Thar coal project would be beneficial for common people and free from all defects.

The success of the Thar coal project would lead to investment from leading international companies, he said.

With the completion of coal-fired power generation project, the nation would get cheap and sufficient power supply, which would resolve the current energy crisis, he added.

Mubarakmand said that the country had enough coal reserves through which it could daily produce 50-60 million cubic feet gasifier, which would end gas shortage from the country.

It is for the first time that the coal gasification is being launched on commercial basis, which will help in abundant and cheap electricity.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Nandipur power plant: Country’s cheapest power plant suffers another setback

Chinese firm asks for increased payments to resume construction process.

Stalled for almost two years, construction of Nandipur power plant – potentially the country’s cheapest power production plant – has once again been delayed. The incomplete project has not only deprived the national grid of 425 MW but also resulted in losses worth millions.

Despite the law ministry’s clearance of sovereign guarantee that halted its completion for almost two years, construction work of the combined-cycle power plant in Nandipur near Gujranwala has failed to resume.

According to an officials, Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) – the Chinese firm tasked with installation of the state-owned power plant – asked for increased charges to reactivate the construction process. They are waiting for government’s assurance on payment to resume work on the plant, official said.

However, the Ministry of Water and Power spokesperson denied any such claim. He, however, added that DEC had taken several loans to complete the project and will certainly claim for the remobilization amount that also includes the interest on loans.

Once the company claims for a revised escalation cost, he said, a consultant from the ministry will evaluate the same for ministry’s approval.

The $329 million project stalled in April 2010 after the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Water and Power engaged in a controversy over changes in financial documents pertaining to the state-owned project – the former refused to clear the sovereign guarantee issued by the latter.

Since the controversy, equipment imported from France has been stranded and gathering rust at the Karachi Port for around 20 months now. More than 60% of the project is complete, a source at the plant – who wished not to be named – said. The accessories of the steam turbine have been stuck at the East and West wharf of Karachi for the last two years, he added.

Work has remained suspended for two years while 400 people working on the state-owned project returned to China, official said. The contractor has to remobilise them and reactivate the entire process, he said. The cost of material and expenses to erect the plant has increased during last two years, he said, therefore DEC will not resume work without government’s assurance to pay revised escalation charges.

Dawn reported on September 28, 2011 that Pakistan Electric Power Company – the owner of the thermal generation plant – would release mobilisation advance to the Chinese firm to resume work in October.

However, no funds have been released so far as the equipment is still lying at the port, the official said. If it isn’t waived, the official said, Rs1 billion demurrage for the last two years will have to be paid using taxpayers’ money.

Given the law ministry had cleared the sovereign guarantee issued by the finance ministry in September last year, the source said, it should not have taken more than a week to resolve the matter. “It is sheer negligence on part of the government,” the source said.

A judicial commission is also probing the matter and conducted several hearings on the issue – another reason causing the delay – he said.

The stalled project is resulting in public money being used for paying interests on the sovereign guarantee issued by the government and advance payments already made, the source said.

More than 50% of the project is complete, the source said, with three turbines already installed. The last and fourth steam turbine – whose machinery is lying at the port – needs to be installed.

Even if DEC gets the go-ahead now, the official said, it will still take them about six to nine months to complete the installation of the plant, he added.

The plant comprises three combine-cycle units – all of them already installed – and a stream turbine to be imported from China. If completed, the unit cost of electricity produced by the plant will be the cheapest compared to all the other independent power producers, official said. The project – which was supposed to be operational in 2010 – would produce electricity at about Rs8 per unit against existing power plants which produce the same at Rs12 per unit, he said.

The government’s failure to ensure timely construction of the much needed power plant has been disappointing what is even worse is the fact that relevant authorities are not willing to speak on the matter.

“This is a sensitive matter and commenting on it would jeopardize my position,” said an official from Pepco who was familiar with the matter.

Following the private sector’s failure to meet the growing electricity demand, the government came up with the idea to construct state-owned projects for large scale power generation. Proposed in 2008 and sponsored by the now dissolved Pepco, Nandipur power was the first public sector project after 1,350MW Muzaffargarh plant established in 1994.

[Ahmad Rashid Ahmad]

Thar Coal – Energy security for Pakistan

The Thar Lignite Coal resources are equivalent to around 50 billion tons of oil, which is more than the combined oil resources of Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Discovered accidentally in the year 1989, during an exploration project of defunct SAZDA (Sindh Arid Zone Development Authority) to find drinkable water in the desert, Thar Coal has remained a matter of active national debate. The size and the quality of Thar Coal reserves were known to a great extent since 1993 after a study by John T Boyd Company, US Mining consultants, only to be reinforced in subsequent studies by other international experts. However, there have always been conflicting views which at times create confusion about technical viability and commercial feasibility of mining and power generation on Thar Coal.

Thar Lignite Coal resource was initially estimated to be around 135 billion tons which was subsequently enhanced to 175 billion tons after review of data by USGS (United States Geological Survey) and GSP (Geological Survey of Pakistan). This estimate was based on distanced bore holes over an area of 9,000 sq kms which meant a source estimate of around 194 million tons of lignite per sq km. Subsequent explorations carried over an area of 1,200 sq have provided even higher figures of proven reserves of being around 200 to 350 million tons of lignite per sq km.

According to the standard conversion rates, the Thar Lignite Coal resources are equivalent to around 50 billion tons of oil, which is more than the combined oil resources of Saudi Arabia and Iran. In terms of gas reserves, these are around 68 times the present resources of natural gas in Pakistan.

Shenhua – an opportunity missed
In 2002 China sent a team of 136 coal mining engineers, geologists, hydro-geologists and power plant specialists with M/s Shenhua Group, to open up Thar coal resources for commercial use. The company established a field camp in the desert and worked on Thar Coalfield for a period of two years. In 2004, they prepared a comprehensive feasibility report which found the Thar lignite resource suitable for commercial mining and proposed open cast mining with mine-mouth power generation of 600 MW in the first phase to be scaled upto 3,000 MWs based on the lignite reserves in Block II, with an area of 55 sq kms (0.6% of Thar coalfield area of 9,000 sq kms).

Shenhua Group asked for a tariff of 5.6 US cents per KWH for the electricity generated by its proposed power project. They asked for just a transmission line to be provided by the government. At that time we were buying electricity from IPPs at 6.5 US cents per KWH. However, Wapda insisted on a tariff of 5.3 US cents per KWH and negotiations broke down. A subsequent feasibility report by Germany’s RWE Company funded by the Federal and Sindh Governments proved that the real commercial cost for power generation in first power project on Thar Coal, as per European standards could be upto 7.6 US cents per KWH.

The revival in 2008
In May 2008, the Government of Sindh through the Mines and Mineral Development Department (the predecessor of Coal and Energy Department) offered a joint venture, a public private partnership, to the private sector with a 60:40 (Private : GOS) equity participation and management control with the private partner. A joint venture company with the name of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company was formed and it started working on the work left unfinished by the Chinese in Block II.