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Shell, Exxon Close Deal To Build Five LNG Import Terminals

By Irina Slav - Sep 20, 2019

Shell and Exxon are among the companies picked by the Pakistani government to build five LNG import terminals as part of efforts to boost natural gas imports to deal with shortages in supply.

Reuters reports that the terminals could be operational in two to three years, quoting the country’s oil and power minister, Omar Ayub Khan.

With a fast-rising population, Pakistan has been plagued with power outages largely resulting from a shortage of fuel necessary to keep its power stations going. Though there is some local production, in financial year 2017/18, demand exceeded this supply by about 3 billion cu ft daily. Imports of gas and LNG are already on the rise but not fast enough to ensure no more blackouts.

To remedy matters, the government has picked five consortia to build additional terminals. The consortia include, besides the two supermajors, also Mitsubishi Corp, Energas, Trafigura, and Gunvor.

The consortia must submit their detailed plans for the terminals for government approval by November 5 although Reuters quoted PM Khan as saying this approval had already been granted.

Pakistan currently has LNG import capacity of 1.2 billion cu ft per day in two terminals, with plans to add another with a capacity of 600 billion cu ft daily in 2020. One billion cu ft of natural gas equals about 21,000 tons of LNG.

The groups approved to progress are Tabeer Energy, a unit of Mitsubishi, Energas with partner Exxon; Pakistan GasPort and commodities trader Trafigura; Engro with partner Shell, and Gunvor with Pakistani conglomerate Fatima.

Italian and Chinese majors vie for Pakistan’s mega LNG tender

REUTERS July 19, 2019

Italian oil major Eni, China’s overseas energy unit PetroChina and two trading houses are vying to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Pakistan in a tender worth billions of dollars.

The 240-cargo 10-year tender, worth up to $6 billion according to Reuters, was issued last month and closed on Thursday.
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the cash-strapped country, which is plagued by Islamist militant violence.

Eni’s ultra-deepwater Kekra-01 well in the Arabian Sea offshore Pakistan was dry.

May 21st, 2019

According to Rystad Energy, the country had high hopes for the well which had a pre-drill resource estimate of around 1.5 Bboe.

“The dry well comes as a major blow not only for the country, but also for the companies involved,” said Rystad senior analyst Palzor Shenga. “The drilling campaign initially had a budget of between $75 million and $80 million, which later grew to approximately $100 million due to technical complications.”

Eni’s partners were ExxonMobil and local companies PPL and OGDCL.

“It seems unlikely at this stage that there will be another attempt at offshore exploration in Pakistan, despite the fact that the country’s ultra-deepwater zone is competitively priced,” Shenga added. “Most international companies have already fled the cash-strapped country, which is plagued by Islamist militant violence. The disappointing result of this well can be expected to have a negative impact on future offshore licensing rounds in Pakistan.”

Qatar agrees to supply LNG to Pakistan on low rates

May 3, 2019

ISLAMABAD: The government has convinced Qatar to supply 400 million cubic feet per day (MMBFD) of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Pakistan on low rates under fresh agreements, which would be signed in the near future, sources revealed on Thursday.

Sources in the Petroleum Division told Pakistan Today that the government has convinced the Qatari government to supply LNG at cheaper rates, as compared to the rates and terms and conditions of LNG deal signed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

They said that both the sides have almost settled major terms and conditions of the new LNG supply agreements, adding that both countries would sign two agreements in this regard.

“One agreement will remain effective for 10 years while the second agreement will remain functional for 15 years. With the new LNG supply agreements, Pakistan’s national exchequer will save approximately $2.5 billion in 10 years,” said sources. “Qatar is likely to provide LNG to Pakistan at 11.5pc of crude oil price under the new ten-year agreement, while it may also provide LNG for 15 years to Pakistan at 11.25pc of crude oil price.”

Last year, Pakistan imported nearly 7 million tonnes of LNG, data from Refinitiv Eikon shows. This year, that could grow to as high as 15 million tonnes and to up to 25 million to 30 million tonnes over the next three to five years, said Adnan Gilani, managing director and chief executive of Pakistan LNG.

Pakistan may soon hit oil, gas jackpot: Prime Minister Imran Khan
The offshore drilling for oil was in final stages and there could be a major find, he said.

PTI | Updated: March 23, 2019,
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Italy's ENI and US oil major Exxon Mobil are jointly drilling for gas offshore in Pakistan's Arabian Sea. Many other Western companies have left more than a decade ago because of Islamist militant violence.

ExxonMobil returned to Pakistan after nearly a decade after surveys were carried out last year suggesting the possibility of big oil reserves within the Pakistani waters.
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Pakistan : objectif atteint pour le projet "tsunami d'un milliard d'arbres"

15/02/2019

Le projet a été lancé en 2015 par Imran Khan et a récemment atteint son objectif : plus d’un milliard d’arbres ont été plantés dans la région de Peshawar.

Pendant quatre ans, près de 5000 ouvriers agricoles, aidés de garde-forestiers, ont planté environ 900 000 eucalyptus et 42 espèces d’arbre différentes sur 3500 km2 de terres arides.

Le projet, baptisé "le tsunami d’un milliard d’arbres", a été financé par la région de Peshawar à hauteur de 169 millions d’euros. Il a permis de créer de nombreux emplois mais il contribue essentiellement à atténuer les effets du changement climatique, à réduire les risques d’inondations en solidifiant les bords de rivières, à réduire l’érosion des sols et à fournir un nouvel habitat pour la faune.

L’homme à l’origine du programme - Imran Khan - est devenu premier ministre et a annoncé vouloir aller plus loin. Il projette de planter 10 milliards d’arbres dans le pays d’ici cinq ans. Le Pakistan est un des pays d’Asie qui accueille le moins de forêts, et celles-ci ont beaucoup souffert durant la guerre : les talibans abattaient les arbres pour financer leurs activités terroristes.

World Bank injects $100 million to support solar in Pakistan

The funds will be used to implement the Sindh Solar Energy Project, a scheme aimed at increasing solar power generation and access to electricity in Sindh province.

JANUARY 9, 2019 EMILIANO BELLINI

According to the World Bank, the Sindh Solar Energy Project, started in 2013, is expected to be developed by 2023. The initiative is split into four components: the building of large-scale solar plants through competitive tenders; the procurement and deployment of distributed generation PV; the development of residential off-grid solar in areas with no grid access; and increasing capacity building and technical assistance to support design and implementation of the project.

Of the total budget, $40 million should be devoted to large-scale PV, an amount expected to enable around 400 MW of capacity. Some $25 million will be allocated for distributed generation, with around 20 MW envisaged. Off-grid capacity and capacity building and technical assistance are said to account for $30 million and $5 million, respectively.

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Pakistan, KSA set to ink Aramco oil refinery deal: report

ByNews Desk -January 3, 20

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have finalised the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction of the multi-billion-dollar Saudi Aramco oil refinery in Gwadar, according to an Arab News report.

Federal Minister For Information Fawad Chaudhry told the paper that Islamabad is expecting to sign a number of investment deals, including the construction of the mega oil refinery, in February.

“The oil refinery project is the biggest investment project of Saudi Arabia in Pakistan,” he added.

According to the report, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have lately expressed renewed interest in enhancing bilateral strategic and trade engagements while KSA also pledged $3 billion in a financial assistant to help Pakistan out of its economic woes.

Minister of State and Board of Investment Chairman Haroon Sharif told the paper that a 15-member Saudi delegation visited Gwadar from Karachi as part of the finalisation process of the MoU for Aramco oil refinery.

Pakistan expects $15 billion investment from Saudi Arabia after Prime Minister Imran Khan chose KSA for his maiden visit and consequently made two official visits.

“I am expecting around $15bn investment from Saudi Arabia in the next 3 years. The inflow of investment for oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Pakistan is estimated to be between $6 billion to $10 billion,” the BoI chairman stated, per the report.

L'Arabie saoudite construira une raffinerie au Pakistan, aux finances fragiles

AFP le 04 oct. 2018

L'Arabie saoudite construira une raffinerie dans le port de Gwadar, au sud du Pakistan, a annoncé jeudi le ministre du Pétrole pakistanais, quand le Pakistan, en manque de liquidités, peine à stabiliser son économie.

Les deux pays se sont mis d'accord sur ce projet lors d'une visite en septembre du nouveau Premier ministre Imran Khan a Jeddah, son premier déplacement à l'étranger en tant que chef du gouvernement, selon le ministre Sarwar Khan.

Le Pakistan, au bord de l'insolvabilité, doit impérativement se refinancer à l'étranger. L'Arabie saoudite est vue par Islamabad comme une alternative à un nouvel emprunt auprès du Fonds monétaire international.

Les Saoudiens "ont montré de l'intérêt pour investir immédiatement dans une raffinerie", a expliqué le ministre du Pétrole lors d'une conférence de presse.

"L'emplacement a été fixé" à Gwadar, un port en eau profonde construit grâce au Corridor économique Chine-Pakistan, un accord prévoyant des dizaines de milliards d'euros d'investissement chinois au Pakistan, a-t-il ajouté.

Les modalités financières 3et la capacité de la raffinerie doivent encore être définies, a-t-il poursuivi, ajoutant que le ministre de l'Energie saoudien viendrait au Pakistan dans les semaines à venir pour finaliser l'accord.