Pakistan on Monday approved the import of 300,000 tonnes of wheat to relieve a shortage of flour supplies that has created a crisis for the government of Prime Minister Imran Continue Reading
Pakistani opposition leaders have renewed their demands for Prime Minister Imran Khan to step down, terming his government illegitimate and incompetent, as thousands gathered at an anti-government protest in the capital Islamabad. Continue Reading
Thousands of anti-government protesters demanding Prime Minister Imran Khan resign over worsening economic conditions and alleged election rigging have gathered in the Pakistani capital awaiting the arrival of a right-wing religious political Continue Reading
Thousands of anti-government demonstrators were due in the Pakistani capital on Thursday to demand that the government step down, piling more pressure on Prime Minister Imran Khan as he strives Continue Reading
A new proposal by Pakistani officials could bring much-needed energy to people in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan during the frigid winters in a long-planned project that will also see Central Asian Continue Reading
The United Arab Emirates is finalizing talks on a $5-billion investment in a crude oil refinery project in Pakistan, local media report , with the construction of the facility likely Continue Reading
A senior Pakistani official said a few weeks ago that Qatar had emerged as the front runner for a long term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal with the country. Continue Reading
Pakistan is eager to open up its gas deposits to foreign energy companies in a bid to boost domestic production amid soaring demand, two government officials told media this week. Continue Reading
Just days after Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman finished his charm-offensive Asian trip to Pakistan, India, and China, the ever-simmering tensions between Pakistan and India flared up again Continue Reading
Amid increasing tensions between longtime regional antagonists India and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) pledged $20 billion to Pakistan on his trip to Islamabad on Sunday. Continue Reading
The proposed site of the Diamer-Bhasha dam in Gilgit-Baltistan Cash-poor Pakistan is crowdfunding a drive to collect almost $17bn from its citizens, officials, businesses and stars in order to build Continue Reading
Turkmenistan completed an upgrade of its largest electric power plant on Saturday, which it hopes will help boost exports and eventually allow supplies to Pakistan, which would require the construction Continue Reading
The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) on Friday hit back at the Petroleum Division and the oil industry, saying they were not giving the full picture and hiding their own shortcomings Continue Reading
ExxonMobil is close to discovering huge oil reserves in Pakistan near the border with Iran, and those reserves could even be larger than the oil reserves of Kuwait, the Pakistani Continue Reading
Pakistan has lifted a ban on fuel oil imports to address the problem of planned power cuts as energy consumption rises towards the summer season, an official with the petroleum Continue Reading
The grids of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan could be connected to bolster regional energy security, a regional lender said. File photo by Jawad Jalali/EPA-EFE Feb. 28 (UPI) — The electricity Continue Reading
Russia could help improve energy security for Pakistan through the delivery of liquefied natural gas, the Russian foreign minister said Tuesday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke Tuesday with his Continue Reading
Pakistan has imposed restrictions on fuel oil imports with immediate effect, as domestic consumption declines amid rising LNG imports and the shutdown of several fuel oil power plants. A new energy Continue Reading
Pakistan’s fuel oil demand is expected to fall sharply over the next three years as growing LNG imports help the country move to a gas-based energy economy. Fuel oil demand Continue Reading
For nearly two weeks, Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, has been like one huge airport smokers’ lounge. But Abid Omar’s jaw still dropped on Wednesday, when he checked the air-quality monitor Continue Reading
Disruption to Pakistan’s domestic trade flows of fuel oil due to almost $5 billion of circular debt is swelling stocks and causing severe power shutdowns during the country’s peak summer Continue Reading
On April 16th, Chinese investments in Pakistan through the much-vaunted China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were revised upwards, from $46 billion to a whopping $62 billion . The project, part of Continue Reading
When Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to office in 2013, rolling power outages across the country were plunging homes and businesses into darkness for up to 12 hours a day. Continue Reading
Iran once again suggested it was moving forward on plans to build a long-delayed natural gas pipeline to Pakistan, this time with the help of China. An interview published by Continue Reading
China’s state-owned Shanghai Electric Power Co. 600021 3.08 % plans to acquire a controlling stake in Pakistani power utility K-Electric Ltd., in a deal that could be one of the Continue Reading
Pakistan and Iran have signed a deal under which the former will import 75,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas within a year, months after a similar agreement was inked with Continue Reading
Bringing natural gas through a pipeline from Turkmenistan will help address chronic energy shortages in Pakistan, the Asian Development Bank said. ADB officials were on hand for the signing of Continue Reading
Cooperation extending into the energy sector is high on the agenda for a two-day state visit to Pakistan, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Friday. Rouhani led a delegation of political Continue Reading
Russian energy company Gazprom said one of the more promising areas for cooperation with Pakistan was in the field of liquefied natural gas. Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller hosted a delegation Continue Reading
The Pakistani government said it’s approved a proposal to deliver funding to help support a multilateral natural gas pipeline stretching east from Turkmenistan. An economic committee, chaired by Pakistani Finance Continue Reading
Crumbling power sector in Pakistan putting pressure on the nation’s economy, Asian Development Bank says. File photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI MANILA, Nov. 20 (UPI) — The Asian Development Bank said it was providing more than $1 billion in loans to help Pakistan address chronic power issues in the country. Pakistan’s aging infrastructure means the country lacks a reliable power sector. The ADB described the status of the power sector in Pakistan as "crippling." The bank approved combined loans of nearly $1.4 billion covering two programs meant to resolve key power sector issues in Pakistan. Most of the initial funding will support advanced metering infrastructure . "Nearly 20 percent of generated electricity is lost due to high technical and commercial losses and measures like the installation of the AMI system are necessary to counter this," ADB energy specialist Adnan Tareen said in a statement. According to the ADB, Pakistan’s power […]
Austrian energy company OMV finds more gas at inland block in Pakistan. Graphic courtesy of OMV VIENNA, Oct. 12 (UPI) — Austrian energy company OMV said a new natural gas discovery in Sindh province in Pakistan means it could potentially boost production in the energy-starved country. OMV announced the discovery of natural gas in the Latif South-1 exploration well in Pakistan. Preliminary testing yielded about 2,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day. "We are very pleased with this exploration success," Johann Pleininger, an OMV board member in charge of exploration and production, said in a statement. "The appraisal and development of this discovery will potentially enable us to enhance the production in Pakistan." Pakistan’s aging infrastructure means the country lacks a reliable power sector. The Asian Development Bank last month backed a provisional assistance package of at least $1.2 billion per year on average through a partnership with Pakistan […]
Building a pipeline from Iran may help Pakistani energy issues, but it won’t be a cure-all for chronic woes, analyst says. UPI/Hamid Forotan/ISNA BATH, England, July 30 (UPI) — Completing a natural gas pipeline from Iran won’t be the "silver bullet" expected by the government in Islamabad, analysis finds. Iran, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, finalized a deal July 14 that restricts Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for relief from sanctions targeting its energy sector. For Iran, it may open the spigot on natural gas reserves , which could help address chronic energy shortages in neighboring Pakistan. Oliver Coleman, deputy head of Asia programs at analytical firm Verisk Maplecroft, said in a briefing that while both sides of the pipeline have lauded its benefits , it won’t address the long-term issue completely. "A steady supply of gas from Iran would not be a […]
Iranian media agency rolls out interviews suggesting renewed interest in natural gas project once dubbed the Peace Pipeline. UPI/Hamid Forotan/ISNA TEHRAN, July 21 (UPI) — A project once dubbed the Peace Pipeline could see new life with Chinese and Indian investors working in a post-sanctions Iran, a Pakistani official said. Salman Shah, a former Pakistani finance minister, told the official Islamic Republic News Agency he expected renewed interest in a gas pipeline running east from Iran. "China and India will probably join the … network," he was quoted as saying in a Tuesday interview. "Once the gas starts flowing, India will like to join it and China has already expressed its willingness for joining the project." IRNA earlier this week quoted Pakistani Energy Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as saying last week’s nuclear deal with Iran meant Islamabad had more options to address lingering energy needs. Pakistan’s aging infrastructure means […]
Iran’s official media quotes Pakistani energy official as saying gas pipeline between both countries could develop in the post-sanctions era UPI/Hamid Forotan/ISNA ISLAMABAD, July 20 (UPI) — If sanctions are removed in full, Pakistan could in theory move forward with implementing a bilateral natural gas pipeline project with Iran. Once dubbed the Peace Pipeline, and including India as the terminal country, Iran has long held out its gas reserves as an opportunity for Eastern trading partners. Washington and its Western allies, however, have backed a rival project that would stretch from one of the world’s largest natural gas fields in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. For Pakistan, sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector meant it was time to reconsider the pipeline project. "Removal of sanctions will facilitate us in meeting our commitments and addressing our energy needs," Pakistani Energy Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was quoted as t elling the […]
Photo Pakistanis took shelter in the shade outside a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, on Wednesday. Credit Shakil Adil/Associated Press KARACHI, Pakistan — The temperature was still searingly high on Wednesday — 98 degrees Fahrenheit, or 37 degrees Celsius — but at least it was dropping. It had been as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit, or 45 degrees Celsius. Health and rescue officials said the number of deaths, which surpassed 800 during the four days that the merciless heat wave gripped this southern port city, had also fallen on Wednesday. “Today was a lot better,” said Anwar Kazmi, a spokesman for the Edhi Foundation , which runs an ambulance service and Karachi’s largest morgue. “We’ve had 58 deaths today, compared to yesterday when the death toll rose to 300.” Meteorologists said Karachi’s weather should improve in the days ahead. “There won’t be heavy rains, but there are chances of light […]
KARACHI, Pakistan — Karachi’s poor learned long ago to cope with the many adversities that afflict Pakistan’s most crowded and chaotic city, including flooding, street violence and political crises. But since a suffocating heat wave descended on Karachi three days ago, killing at least 650 people, they have found no respite and no escape. “It’s so hot,” said a security guard, Shamim ur-Rehman, 34, as he sat on a cot, looking beleaguered. “There is no fan, there is nothing. I can’t sleep at night or during the day.” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared an emergency on Tuesday as the death toll from the heat wave soared, with overwhelmed hospitals struggling to treat a surge of casualties and morgues filling to capacity. The army set up emergency treatment centers in the streets and the provincial government closed schools and city offices. The Edhi Foundation , which runs an ambulance service […]
Pakistan’s prime minister called for emergency measures as the death toll from a heatwave in southern Sindh province topped 450. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said it had received orders from Nawaz Sharif to undertake immediate response measures. The army has also been deployed to set up heat stroke centres and assist the NDMA, it added. Many of the victims are elderly people from low income families. The death toll from the heatwave has risen above 450 Health officials say many deaths have been in the largest city, Karachi, which has experienced temperatures as high as 45C (113F) in recent days. Hundreds of patients suffering from the effects of the heatwave are being treated at government hospitals, provincial health secretary Saeed Mangnejo said. The demand for electricity for air conditioning has coincided with increased power needs over Ramadan, when Muslims fast during daylight hours. Hot weather is not […]
Photo President Xi Jinping of China will sign accords for projects worth $46 billion during a visit to Islamabad on Monday. Credit Anjum Naveed/Associated Press BEIJING — China ’s president, Xi Jinping , travels to Pakistan on Monday laden with tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure and energy assistance on a scale the United States has never offered in the past decade of a close relationship, a gesture likely to confirm the decline of American influence in that nation. Mr. Xi, making his first overseas trip this year, and the first by a Chinese leader to Pakistan in nine years, will arrive fortified from the robust reception to the new China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , and is looking to show that China can make a difference in a friendly, neighboring country troubled by terrorism. Pakistani officials say that Mr. Xi will be signing accords for $46 billion […]
ENLARGE Iranian workers weld two pipes together in 2013, at the start of construction on a pipeline to transfer natural gas from Iran to Pakistan in Chabahar, Iran. Photo: Vahid Salemi/ASSOCIATED PRESS ISLAMABAD—China will build a pipeline to bring natural gas from Iran to Pakistan to help address Pakistan’s acute energy shortage, under a deal to be signed during the Chinese president’s visit to Islamabad this month, Pakistani officials said. The arrival of President Xi Jinping is expected to showcase China’s commitment to infrastructure development in ally Pakistan, at a time when few other countries are willing to make major investments in cash-strapped, terrorism-plagued, Pakistan. The pipeline would amount to an early benefit for both Pakistan and Iran from the framework agreement reached earlier this month between Tehran and the U.S. and other world powers to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The U.S. had previously threatened Pakistan with […]
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s defense minister says a Saudi-led coalition targeting Shiite rebels in Yemen wants it to contribute ground troops. The comments Monday by Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif come as Pakistan’s parliament debates whether to contribute militarily to the campaign against the rebels, known as Houthis. Pakistan has offered its verbal support for the mission. Days of airstrikes have yet to dislodge the Houthis from territory they hold across Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country. That’s led to speculation that there could be a ground operation launched in Yemen. Asif says Saudi Arabia also asked for aircraft and naval ships for the campaign. The Saudi-led campaign entered its 12th day Monday, targeting rebels who took over the capital, Sanaa, in September and eventually forced President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee.
Outcry and fears grow as Pakistan builds new nuclear reactors thumbnail The Karachi Nuclear PowerComplex is on an earthquake-prone seafront less than 20 miles from downtown Karachi. (Max Becherer/Polaris Images for The Washington Post) KARACHI, Pakistan — World leaders have fretted for years that terrorists may try to steal one of Pakistan’s nuclear bombs and detonate it in a foreign country. But some Karachi residents say the real nuclear nightmare is unfolding here in Pakistan’s largest and most volatile city. On the edge of Karachi, on an earthquake-prone seafront vulnerable to tsunamis and not far from where al-Qaeda militants nearly hijacked a Pakistan navy vessel last fall, China is constructing two large nuclear reactors for energy-starved Pakistan. The new reactors, utilizing a cutting-edge design not yet in use anywhere in the world, will each provide 1,100 megawatts to Pakistan’s national energy grid. They are being built next to a much […]
Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline not abandoned thumbnail The Pakistani commerce minister says the country has not abandoned the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, which is scheduled to provide Pakistan with Iranian natural gas. Pakistan will pursue the IP project after the removal of anti-Iran sanctions, the Express Tribune quoted Khurram Dastgir Khan as saying in a Saturday report. “A gas pipeline that is going to be laid from [the Pakistani port city of] Gwadar to [the port city of] Nawabshah can be extended by 11 kilometers to Iran,” the minister said. Iran and Pakistan signed an agreement for the construction of the gas pipeline in 1995. Later, Iran made a proposal to extend the pipeline from Pakistan into India. In February 1999, an accord between Iran and India was signed. But due to the US pressure, India withdrew from the project in 2009. Iran has already built its 900-kilometer share […]
Sign up for our daily Energy Newsletter Asian Development Bank extends loan to Pakistan to help build LNG facility near Karachi. UPI/Stephen Shaver MANILA, Feb. 27 (UPI) — The Asian Development Bank said Friday it was supporting efforts to help Pakistan build its first liquefied natural gas terminal with a $30 million loan. Pakistani company Engro Corp. will get funding from the ADB to build the regasification terminal at a port near Karachi. The plant will be able to convert as much as 3 million tons of LNG per year to gas for use in state power plants. ADB investment specialist Mohammed Azim Hashimi said the loan would help Pakistan build a cleaner, more efficient and more diverse power sector . "Pakistan urgently needs to utilize its existing power generation capacity fully, while reducing its reliance on costly imported diesel fuel for electricity generation," he said in a statement. […]
Credit Photograph by Mauricio Lima/The New York Times/Redux Angry protesters filled the streets of Karachi last week, clogging traffic lanes and public squares until police and paratroopers were forced to intervene. That’s not rare in Pakistan, which is often a site of political and religious violence. But last week’s protests had nothing to do with freedom of expression, drone wars, or Americans. They were about access to water. When Khawaja Muhammad Asif, the Minister of Defense, Power, and Water (yes, that is one ministry), warned that the country’s chronic water shortages could soon become uncontrollable, he was looking on the bright side. The meagre allotment of water available to each Pakistani is a third of what it was in 1950. As the country’s population rises, that amount is falling fast. Dozens of other countries face similar situations—not someday, or soon, but now. Rapid climate change, population growth, and a […]
ISLAMABAD—Pakistan is close to striking a long-term deal worth potentially $22.5 billion or more to import liquefied natural gas to help fuel the country’s power stations and ease its crippling electricity crisis, Pakistan’s top energy official said. “We are negotiating with Qatar and a few other sources,” said Pakistani Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “The deal will be very competitive and very beneficial for Pakistan.” An agreement with Qatar is expected by early March, Pakistani officials say. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to office in May 2013 on a pledge to reduce the country’s electricity shortages, which see power regularly cut to homes and businesses for eight or more hours a day. Tackling the electricity deficit, however, has thus far largely eluded Mr. Sharif’s government. The government has promised to eradicate the electricity shutdowns, known as load shedding, by the […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Energy-starved Pakistanis, their economy battered by chronic fuel and electricity shortages, may soon have to contend with a new resource crisis: major water shortages, the Pakistani government warned this week. A combination of global climate change and local waste and mismanagement have led to an alarmingly rapid depletion of Pakistan ’s water supply, said the minister for water and energy, Khawaja Muhammad Asif. “Under the present situation, in the next six to seven years, Pakistan can be a water-starved country,” Mr. Asif said in an interview, echoing a warning that he first issued at a news conference in Lahore this week. The prospect of a major water crisis in Pakistan, even if several years distant, offers a stark reminder of a growing challenge in other poor and densely populated countries that are vulnerable to global climate change. In Pakistan, it poses a further challenge to Prime […]
Pakistani motorists wait for their turn to fill their vehicles at a petrol station in Islamabad on January 22, 2015 (Photo: AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images) The shortage of imported oil began some two weeks ago, with affected areas almost grinding to a halt. Across the country, many buses have been taken off the streets, and scuffles have broken out at gas stations where people wait in long queues for fuel. Although the situation has eased slightly, the crisis prompted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to pull out of last week’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. Pakistan has to deal with chronic power cuts, and tackling the energy issue was one of Sharif’s main campaign pledges ahead of the 2013 general election. The situation was recently exacerbated by an apparent rebel attack on a key power line which plunged around 80 percent of the South Asian country into darkness over the […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Towns and cities across Pakistan plunged into darkness early Sunday when what officials said was an attack by militants on a transmission line short-circuited the national electricity grid, presenting a new indictment of the government’s faltering efforts to solve the country’s chronic power crisis. Emergency efforts to end the blackout, widely described as Pakistan ’s worst ever, resulted in a partial restoration of power in the capital, Islamabad, and the most populous city, Karachi, by Sunday evening. Even so, 80 percent of the country remained without power, including the provincial capitals of Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta, an official said. The minister for water and power, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, blamed separatist rebels in the western province of Baluchistan who, he said, had blown up a critical transmission line. But experts said the attack only highlighted the growing vulnerability of Pakistan’s power grid, which has come under severe […]
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif canceled a trip to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as the nation’s worst fuel shortages in memory threatened to revive street protests against him. Since the crisis began last week, he’s suspended five officials, including Pakistan State Oil Co.’s deputy chief, and has sought hourly updates on the situation. The government has sold fuel from its reserves and private companies have boosted supplies as anger grows over long waits at petrol stations. The cash-strapped distributor’s move this month to reduce shipments by 80 percent left it unable to meet a surge in demand after the government cut gas prices to match lower global costs. The Finance Ministry has arranged emergency funding to import oil, Power Minister Khawaja Asif said in a Jan. 21 text message. The crisis is a test of Pakistan’s credibility in the eyes of overseas investors, whose fivefold […]
Click here to view full article at www.hellenicshippingnews.com
