Already facing one of the worst economic periods of its history, Pakistan won't be able to sustain energy import bill that is being projected to increase to $ 45 billion in the year 2020 and $ 60 billion in 2025. Well-placed sources told Business Recorder on Saturday that Pakistan has been experiencing the energy crisis for the last six years, which needs to be resolved by the government, policymakers and other stakeholders.
Since 2005 Pakistan's total energy consumption has increased from 32.105 million tons to 38.768 million tons. In 2005 oil consumption stood at 11.7 million tons, which at present has dropped to 10.82 million tons; the decrease has been attributed to increased use of gas by transportation, domestic and industrial sectors, which went up from 11.64 million tons to 17 million tons over the years.
Coal consumption has also increased during the period as in 2005 it was 3.3 million tons and currently it stands at 4.3 million tons. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) consumption has also increased by 5 percent during the period as in 2005 its total consumption was 0.450 million tons which at present is 0.578 million tons.
Overall energy consumption over the period has increased by 3.8 percent annually, which has been met by growth in gas supply. Industry and transport sectors are major consumers of energy followed by domestic sector. Sources said it is true that the world-wide LNG production capacity had been 50 million tons in 2000, while in 2009 it rose to 260 million tons. It is a fact that the global LNG capacity is projected to increase by 50 percent in 2014.
According to sources, to enhance investment opportunities for the global oil companies, it is the need of the hour that the government should take certain steps ie to improve investor confidence to discover large oil and gas fields. To provide proper infrastructure facilities for exploration mobility and transportation of the product along with state of the art pipelines and LNG terminals.
The risk factors including poor law and order and political situation in three provinces ie Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have hindered foreign investment in exploration and production of the energy sources in the country. Sources said the Ministry of Petroleum has already warned the oil companies working in KP and Sindh about the security threats during exploration of new oil and gas fields. "That is the main reason behind low foreign investment in oil and gas sector," sources added.
Sources maintained that per capita energy consumption in Pakistan is the lowest among the 10 major densely populated countries. But since 2007, the overall energy supplies in Pakistan have been decreasing gradually, while importing energy at high prices is becoming unaffordable as prices of different energy sources are rapidly increasing in the global market.
The natural gas meets 49 percent of Pakistan total energy demand, while the country imports 33 percent of its overall energy requirements in the form of crude oil, LPG and coal. Sources said up to 24 percent of the total energy supplies of the country are being used for transformation of electricity, while 68 percent is being consumed by other users. They added that due to a considerable reduction in gas exploration activities in Pakistan, the government is forced to import furnace oil that is fattening the country's import bill with each passing day.