Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) recently inaugurated its new 220 MW (megawatt) Combined Cycle Power Plant located in Korangi. The plant, owned and operated by the KESC, has been completed with an investment of Rs 16 billion. It consists of four latest, state-of-the-art high-efficiency gas turbines, one steam turbine and other plant equipmentNote that Abraj Capital assumed management control of KESC in late 2008. The current deficit of electricity in the system stands at around 3,500 megawatts. The KESC has started pre-construction activities for a new 560 megawatts combined cycle power plant at Bin Qasim which would be functional in one and half year
All the big shots, Prime Minister, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Education Minister Mazharul Haq and others were also present on this occasion. The Prime Minister said that a mix of moderate generation capacity projects like Duber Khwar, Jinnah Low Head Mianwali, Nandipur, 3 Chashnupp, 121 Mega Watts Allai Khwar, Bhikki Power Plant and Liberty Power Tech are some of the prominent power projects in thermal, nuclear and hydro sectors.
Prime Minister said that theft of electricity and non-payment of dues are the biggest reasons of bringing this sector under crisis. “It is a vicious cycle which affects investment in the system and needs to be broken through building better coordination among all stakeholders in the city of Karachi,” he added.
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Electricity, Energy, Infrastructure, Natural Gas
Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources on Friday told National Assembly that the government was making serious efforts to end the load shedding of gas from next year. During question hour, he informed the house that the government was giving incentives to the oil and gas exploration companies for ending load shedding from the country.
Pakistan and Iran are expected to sign an agreement on Iran-Pakistan (IP) Gas Pipeline Project in Turkey during March 8-10, 2010. After signing of the project between the two countries, it would be completed within a period of 3-4 years. This would resolve all issues relating to gas load shedding in the country due to smooth supply of gas from Iran on regular basis, he added.
Responding to a question, he said the government is working on a project to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to meet the domestic requirements. It would also be instrumental in checking shortage of gas. He said that the load management of natural gas was formally observed for the first time on December 1, in 1982. However, due to lack of proper planning in the past the problem could not be resolved. Load management of gas could only end permanently after matching of supply and demand.
Gas, Natural Gas, Pakistan, Petrol
Government of Pakistan awarded a contract to GDF Suez to supply 3.75 million tons per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for a period of 20 years. This is the country’s first gas import project and efforts are still being made to allow Shell to import additional 2.5 million tons during the same period.
The project envisages supply of up to 500 million cubic feet per day of gas. The price of LNG imported from GDF Suez will be $1.8 billon lower than the rates offered by Shell in the first six years, the import price will be around $9.3 per MMBtu said, G A Sabri, senior petroleum ministry official.
GDF Suez will start supplying the gas to Pakistan by Oct. 2011 according to the initial six-year contact. . The company may also supply 1.5 million tons of LNG annually for the following 14 years under the contract, G.A Sabri said.
Via Ibrahimsajidmalick.com
Natural Gas, Pakistan
contract, LNG
There are some new techniques which help to tap into natural gas reserves but there is public concern about damage to environment. A mounting backlash against a technique used in natural-gas drilling is threatening to slow development of huge gas fields.
The U.S. energy industry says there is enough untapped domestic natural gas to last a century—but getting to that gas requires injecting millions of gallons of water into the ground to crack open the dense rocks holding the deposits. The process, known as hydraulic fracturing, has turned gas deposits in shale formations into an energy bonanza.
The industry’s success has triggered increasing debate over whether the drilling methods cause damage to the environment.
Today, the industry estimates that 90% of all new gas wells are fractured. Shale—a dense, nonporous gas-bearing rock—won’t release its gas unless it is cracked open, and other types of formations also produce more gas when fractured. Easier, more porous formations, which don’t require fracturing, were tapped in earlier decades and have largely dried up.
As the industry has honed its techniques, hydraulic-fracturing operations have become more complex, requiring far more water and chemicals—millions of gallons per well, rather than tens or hundreds of thousands of gallons in the past.
Environmentalists and some community activists fear hydraulic fracturing could contaminate drinking-water supplies. They point to recent incidents that they say are linked to fracturing, including a water-well explosion in Dimock, Pa., and a chemical spill here in Shreveport.
The industry says fracturing is safe and argues that there have been only a handful of incidents among the large number of wells that have been fractured over the past 50 years. “Hydraulic fracturing has been used since the 1940s in more than one million wells in the United States. It’s safe and effective,” says Exxon spokeswoman Cynthia Bergman.
Even if the industry can make its case, it still must deal with the public-relations and political fallout from some of the questionable incidents.
Via: Wall Street Journal
Consumers, Energy, Environment, Natural Gas
