Steps to overcome energy shortage US extends a helping hand: State Department official

The United States government had made a significant contribution to Pakistan in meeting its energy deficit by enabling the policy framework whereby the LNG terminal bid was structured and evaluated, said US State Department's Special Envoy for Energy Amos Hochstein during a visit to the LNG vessel here at Port Qasim on Saturday. Washington, he said, had thereby built upon the strong and sincere bilateral relations between the two nations.
"Engro... had selected a renowned company like Excelerate Energy to provide the FSRU (Floating Storage and Re-Gasification Unit) vessel which was a sign of the US private sector being willing to come forward and accept the challenge of operating in Pakistan's energy sector," he added.
FSRU-type M/v Exquisite is docked at Port Qasim after transporting Thursday night the second shipment of at least 148,000 cubic feet Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited (ETPL), a subsidiary of Engro Corporation. Engro partnered with US's Excelerate Energy to provide the FSRU.
The US special envoy lauded Engro's ability to complete the $135 million project on "fast track" basis within the given timeframe of 12 months. A statement issued by General Shipping Agencies (GSA) said a high-level US delegation visited FSRU Exquisite where presentations were given to the visitors by ETPL and Excelerate Energy. Captain Serge Podolski conducted a tour of the vessel.
Led by Hochstein, the delegation comprised Andrea Richter, Chief of Staff for the Bureau of Energy Resources, James Schwemlein, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mike Curtis, Energy Office Director, USAID Islamabad, Dr Chad Peterson, Political and Economic Chief US Consulate Karachi.
Also in attendance were Dr Miftah Ismail, Chairman SSGC Khalid Rahman, MD SSGC, Hussain Dawood, Chairman, Engro Corporation Ltd, Khalid Mansoor, CEO, HubCo, Muneer Kamal, Chairman Karachi Stock Exchange, Marshall Carpenter, Director, Project Development, Excelerate Energy L.P., Houston, Wael Kamal, General Manager, Excelerate Energy Dubai Business Development, Dubai.
Managing Director GSA Mohammed Rajpar, the agents of Excelerate Energy in Pakistan, said the FSRU was a state-of-the-art vessel with storage and re-gasification capabilities supplied by Excelerate to ETPL. The Houston-based firm was a pioneer of such solutions, he added.
Marshall Carpenter, in his presentation, highlighted the history, capabilities and global reach of Excelerate and expressed his company's long-term commitment to assist Pakistan develop its LNG capacities in the best possible manner. The outgoing President and CEO of Engro Corporation, Ali Ansari, highlighted the history and diversity of Engro's various subsidiaries and activities. CEO of Elengy Terminal Pakistan Limited, Sheikh Imranul Haque, gave a detailed briefing on the project's scope, design, regulatory framework, time lines and finances.