Islamabad, Aug 28: Pakistan is looking for up to $20 billion in investment, mostly through government-to-government (G2G) partnerships, in an effort to revitalize its economy.The work is under progress. Strengthening ties with Gulf states and Saudi Arabia, among other development partners, is the main goal. This action is part of Islamabad’s strategy to use these high-level talks to obtain significant inflows in a number of different industries. A parliamentary panel was briefed by the Minister of Petroleum, Musadik Malik, who declared, “Efforts to secure up to $20 billion in investment for Pakistan, with a focus on government-to-government (G2G) agreements are underway.”
Concerns were raised by the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum during a meeting presided over by Senator Umer Farooq regarding the cessation of gas deliveries to captive power units, even though they paid for renovations at the government’s request. The panel asked the Ministry of Petroleum and its representatives for updates. In order to meet their energy needs, enterprises have invested in power plants with a 50% efficiency rate, according to Senator Mohsin Aziz.
However, the Director General of Gas stated that because these plants are less efficient than LNG facilities, the IMF had encouraged the Power Division to move them to the national grid. As a result, the fund suggested cutting off gas supplies. The Petroleum Division has argued for more efficiency over disconnection. He said that 242 million cubic meters of LNG are used daily (mmcmd) by 1,180 captive power plants throughout the nation. Founded as a result of a 2005 government directive, Of these plants, Sindh is home to 797 of them. The government requested an audit of them in 2021, but nearly half of them in Sindh were granted judicial stay orders.
The Petroleum Division has raised the gas tariff for captive plants from Rs1,100 per MMBTU to Rs3,300 per MMBTU in order to address the discrepancy between the prices for gas and power. “There is still sensitivity on this issue,” said the Petroleum Division secretary. We can have a conversation about it over dinner with the committee. Musadik Malik, the minister of petroleum, characterized the subject as delicate and indicated his desire to continue the conversation. In addition, he suggested holding an in-camera briefing on captive power plants and the Iran gas pipeline. Plans to deregulate petroleum pricing were mentioned by Malik. subject to guaranteeing public safety.
The interim government’s proposal to cut off gas to these plants was criticized by Senator Mohsin Aziz, who said that the interim administration lacked the authority to make such long-term decisions. He emphasized that the plants had made large investments in co-generation and urged that at the next meeting, they should talk about any agreements they may have with the IMF.
