Energy & Power

WORLD WATCH

Proposals to Generate 13,400 MW in Pakistan

Over 50 private sector projects are in the pipeline to generate 13,400 megawatts of electricity in Pakistan by 2016 at an estimated cost of $12.847 billion.

The Pak Ministry of Water and Power said that 10 projects with the capacity to generate 2,255 MW were expected to be completed by 2008 with an investment of $1.6 billion. Similarly, during the year 2009, eight projects have been planned to generate 1,764 MW of electricity with an investment of $1.323 billion, including three oil and five gas-fed projects. The ministry said that in year 2010, seven projects of 1,321 MW capacity, including two hydel, one oil and three gas-based, would be completed with at cost of $1.096 billion.

In year 2011, three hydel projects with a capacity of 284 MWs would be completed at a cost of $355 million would.

The ministry sources said that seven projects with a capacity of 2,726 MW, including three hydel and four coal projects would be completed with the cost of $2.3 billion in 2012. In year 2013, five projects, including four hydel and one coal-fed, would be completed to generate 1,986 MW of electricity. These projects will cost $2.2 billion.

Sources said that three hydel projects having the capacity of 1,443 MW would be completed by 2014 and would cost $1.804 billion. In year 2015 and 2016, seven hydel projects with the capacity to generate 1,620 MW of electricity would be completed at a cost of $2.025 billion. Sources said that the government had signed five agreements with different companies for generating 1,300 megawatts of electricity recently.

ExxonMobil to Negotiate Natuna Gas Block

The US giant oil and gas company ExxonMobil has determined to negotiate with the Indonesian government about the operation contract on the gas block Natuna D Alfa, and will not bring the dispute to the international arbitration, an official of the company said.

“We still commit to have a negotiation,” the Vice Director of the External Relation of the company Maman Bidiman said. Maman deflected that the block has been an open area which means any other operator could enter for operation.
“If there is a statement that the Natuna block has become an open area which any operator can enter, it has never been told to us,” he said.

Earlier, Indonesian Mines and Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said that the status of the block became an open area after the termination of contract of ExxonMobil on January 9, 2005.

WB Grants $45.4m to India for Clean Coal Energy

The World Bank has announced a grant of $45.4 million to co-finance the launch of projects for rehabilitation of coal-fired power generation plants that will help ensure clean energy in India.

The 'Coal Fired Generation Rehabilitation' project, the first of its kind in India, will be financed by World Bank's Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the Power Ministry.

The project will also help increase output and efficiency of the existing plants. "We at GEF intend to work with our Indian counterparts and other large developing countries to develop clean energy framework that will enable them to obtain energy according to their requirement for development," Monique Barbut, CEO and Chairman, GEF, told a press conference. "The grant will enable the country to move forward," Barbut added.

India has also received an allocation of $29.6 million for development of biodiversity and $74.9 million for projects under climate change from the GEF.

"Coal is in abundance everywhere in the world. And India cannot ignore its usefulness in its path towards development," said Maxine Olson, UN Resident Representative India.

ONGC-Cairn Reach Agreement on Rajasthan Pipeline

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp and Cairn India Ltd have reached an understanding on building a 340-million dollar pipeline to transport crude oil found in Barmer district of Rajasthan to Gujarat.

At a meeting convened by the Petroleum Ministry, the two partners favored inclusion of the pipeline cost in the field development plan for the Rajasthan fields, that will be recovered from sale of crude oil.

Like the cost for developing Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields, the pipeline investment would also be shared between Cairn and ONGC in 70:30 ratio.