The Adviser to Prime Minister on Energy, Mukhtar Ahmed, on Friday said Pakistan was ''moving ahead'' with implementation of gas pipeline projects, import of LNG and import of power from Central Asia.
At the domestic levels, he said the government was determined to develop Thar coal while ''some movement is in place'' on going ahead with five mega projects for hydel power generation, which would considerably enhance comparatively cheaper electric power resource.
Mukhtar Ahmed stated this while responding to questions at a day-long conference on ''Meeting Pakistan''s Energy Needs in the 21st Century,'' held under the aegis of the Asia Society at the Woodrow Wilson Centre for Scholars.
The conference was attended by experts, scholars and officials, and the consensus was that the blue print of the government''s policy response was right, and let it be implemented.
Mukhtar Ahmed was the keynote speaker, who presented Pakistan''s case for energy needs, with facts and figures and a power point presentation, followed by question-answer session. The conference had three sessions. He explained key elements of the policy response of the country to meet the energy requirements of an expanding economy, which had registered 8.4 and 6.5 percent growth rate during the past two years.
He said the key elements of an action plan to meet the energy requirements of the country in the long-term, to balance the risks associated with rising world energy prices and protect the economy against uncertainties in development of domestic resource base.
The adviser said the implementation of gas pipeline projects, LNG projects and projects for import of electricity from Central Asia was being pursued ''on a fast track basis''. He said the government expects the private sector and the foreign direct investment (FDI) to play a central role in development of the energy sector in the country.
Mukhtar Ahmed said production of oil and gas in the country is expected to improve slightly in the near term, but decline in the long-run, given the current onshore exploration activities and resource outlook, and a low likelihood of a major offshore discovery. Availability of coal, hydel, nuclear and renewable energy, he said, is projected to improve significantly in line with current resource development plans.
The availability of energy from these sources, however, will not be enough to meet the growing demand of the economy, he said, adding the energy deficit which stands at 15 MTOE (million tons oil equivalent) or 28 percent of the energy demand presently will increase to 122 MTOE by 2025, corresponding to 62 percent of the demand.
This outlook, he said, clearly indicates a need to place development of the indigenous resource base on a high priority, followed by long-term arrangements to acquire energy from external sources that are affordable and reliable.
Mukhtar Ahmed said as far as Turkmenistan was concerned, it was the gas availability factor, and transmission. "I have looked at numbers, which indicate that there is enough gas in the ground to support a 30 year project for Pakistan and India", he added.
The adviser said: "We have been assured in writing by Turkmenistan that the required amount of gas would be made available, so, now, gas availability is assured." "We have other issues to deal with, say for instance, transit issue. We recognise that many things need to be put in place. So, it is alive, and hopefully, someday, it will happen," he said on Turkmenistan project.
"We are in active discussion with Iran and Turkmenistan, while the Qatar alternative is on backburner, in a sense, because Qataris have told us that most of their gas is committed, and that they don''t have gas for a 30 year commitment. These three things are under consideration. Some more active than others", he said.
He said Pakistan was also looking at power import in the country from Central Asia, adding: "We are looking at Tajikstan and Kyrghyzstan, as two possible sources of power.
The gas pipeline import project could deliver energy at competitive prices to meet energy requirements in residential sector and industrial sector. "So, this is an option that is being actively pursued." Responding to some of the points raised by the speakers, the adviser said the government was encouraging the private sector for investments.
He said the government following a two-pronged approach, "we are reacting, but at the same time, we are proactive, adding: "We are looking ahead, and development of energy sector on a sustainable track."
To a point, he said Pakistan was also supportive of regional co-operation at Saarc level in the energy sector, and added that "a lot of lessons" could be learnt, say for instance, from Bangladesh rural electrification programme."
Mukhtar Ahmed said Pakistan was giving due importance to biomass, which is a significant player in energy development. "We have announced plans about wind mills, while it believes in renewable energy resources." To a point, he said Pakistan already imported coal from Australia and Indonesia, while India is a potential source for coal.
In rural areas, which have access to agricultural waste like rice-husk the government was trying to promote use of that biomass for power generation. In urban centres, the government was moving towards utilisation of municipal waste for power generation. So, that is a two-pronged approach.
Solar power, he said, was again something the government was looking at in the context of rural electrification, adding: "We are trying to mainstream the energy." About nuclear energy, he said it was barely meeting one percent of energy requirements of Pakistan. On infrastructure, he said Pakistan has a well developed infrastructure for energy.
The gas transmission infrastructure connects to 4.26 million households and commercial establishments in addition to bulk of the industries and thermal power generating units in the country, and includes 9,060 km of high pressure transmission pipelines and over 225,000 HP of compression capacity. The power transmission and distribution network serves over 16.3 million residential and commercial and 0.23 million industrial customers, and includes 40,500 km of high voltage transmission lines.