After years of trying ... now GOP has finally walked in to create a company, as they see no international major investment in this field !!

I hope they dont loose their steam and follow up on this important by product ...

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=43673
Thar Coal Mining Company planned with Rs 250m capital

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to set up a mining company to tap its estimated 184 billion tonnes coal reserves and help meet its growing energy needs, a senior government official said on Monday.

The government has approved Rs 250 million as initial paid-up capital for the Thar Coal Mining Company and will offer its shares to local and foreign companies with management control. “As per the plan, the coal authority in Sindh will have 20 per cent equity while the federal government will offer its 80 per cent stake in the company to local and foreign firms,” Rashid Hussian Malik, a senior official at the Petroleum Ministry told Reuters.

Thar is Pakistan’s largest unexploited coalfield. It is spread over 9,100 sq km and has estimated deposits of 175.5 billion tonnes. Other large deposits of more than 7 billion tonnes and 1.3 billion tonnes are believed to lie in Sindh’s Sonda and Lakhra fields, respectively.

Pakistan produces about six million tonnes of coal annually, most of which is consumed by brick kilns. Government officials say Pakistan’s economy is growing at more than six per cent a year and its energy needs are rising significantly. Pakistan’s total power generation capacity is about 21,000MW, of which 39 per cent is generated by fuel oil.

Power demand last year was 15,000-16,000 megawatt-hours. Currently, coal-fired power units contribute less than three per cent to total energy produced, but experts believe there is scope for large-scale utilisation of coal in power generation.

The absence of any pricing formula for coal-fired power units, however, has been a major impediment in attracting foreign investment into coal mining. “There is no pricing formula, mainly because there has not been any proper coal mining at large scale. We need to produce more and increase its utilisation,” said Abbas Ali Shah, Director-General of the Sindh Coal Authority.

A Chinese firm, Shengua Group Corporation, had carried out a feasibility study in Thar area to set up two 300 MW coal-fired power plants but had to wind up after it failed to reach agreement on a tariff with the government. “We will have to make use of coal’s huge potential to reduce our reliance on imported fuel,” Shah said.

Pakistan is dependent on fuel oil imports to meet its energy needs and has an annual oil import bill of more than$6.5 billion.

coal is seen mostly as a 'dirty' form of energy these days with regard to environmental factors. i think that and the fact that coal companies aren't doing too well i believe may have stopped any foreign investment here....

coal is not as dirty as it used to be. there are ways to 'clean' the pollutants up before the smoke is released into the atmosphere.
I think the Pakistan government should try and generate as much energy as we can using coal, it is a natural resource and it is a cheap source of energy.

This is a good step. The government can always get this project up and running and then privatise it some years down the road. We only produce around 3% of our energy using coal. we sjould aim to raise this to at least 15%-20%.

ur right but even clean coal is still dirtier as compared with other alternative sources such as hydro or wind power. considering the massive amount of sunshine we get perhaps even solar energy if they can find a way to make it more efficient. then there is always nuclear energy...

agree on the privitisation thing.

regards.

The quality /rank of coal ranges from sub-bituminous to lignitic. The Thar coal is lignite-B but it is low in sulphur and ash content.
[http://www.mpnr.gov.pk/fosilfuel.php]

sub-bituminous and lignite are low level coals, they are expensive to be used and produce more carbon-dioxide,
maybe this was the cause pakistan govt was reluctant to utilize it.

Dirty/clean depends on the amount of sulphur in the coal. Also the %age of humidity could be a factor in the yield of a coal.

But anyways, Pakistan should make use of every form of energy as most of its trade deficit is due to the import of expensive oil.

Dirty/clean depends on the amount of sulphur in the coal. Also the %age of humidity could be a factor in the yield of a coal.

But anyways, Pakistan should make use of every form of energy as most of its trade deficit is due to the import of expensive oil

Does it really matter in a desert area far off from population .. Does it really matter to those who have no means of employment in this arid area of Pakistan where other than farming people have no other means.

Coal mining & utilization has been avoided by the local MPA / MNA / Councillors due to the sale of coal in the black market by these very same person. They created lots of law & order situation for stopping foreign companies to start work on this alternative source of energy.

Now GOP has finally put it's own fingers in .. i hope it works out .. as in all around the globe coal is still being used as one form of alternate energy source and for your information it is due to investment in coal energy that today our cement factories are minting profit.

I am for development of coal fields in Thar .. as I have myself visited the area of Thar.