News
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Thar coal — Pakistan’s hope for energy self-sufficiencyBy Amjad Agha
Recently it has been reported that the Planning Commission has decided to stop further financing of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) Project at Thar, since no encouraging results are forthcoming. This UCG project is the brainchild of Dr Samar Mubarakmand, who has been working on it for the last couple of years. This news has been given lot of coverage by the media, and a wrong impression is being created as if the Planning Commission has rejected the Thar coal. It is surprising that so far the Planning Commission has not clarified their position. Obviously the objection pertains to underground gasification of the Thar coal and not the mining of the huge deposit of coal.
Thar coal deposits are the largest resource discovered in the country, which can provide the much-needed solution for generating large amount of electricity for many many years at affordable price. The estimates indicate that 135 to 175 billion tonnes of lignite coal can be obtained from the deposit, which can produce thousands of megawatts of electricity for decades. Thar coal can be obtained by open cast mining similar to the method used all over the world. The UCG is a method of converting unworked coal – coal still in the ground - into a combustible gas, which can be used for power generation. The UCG is at present not extensively used commercially, but research is going on to make it commercially attractive. However, the open pit mining of coal is the normal method being used, and most of the coal is being obtained in this manner. The UCG method is still in the research stage and if found suitable for Thar coal, it will be useful and economical. Therefore, Dr Mubarakmand’s project may be curtailed but should not be stopped until it reaches final outcome.
The open cast mining of Thar coal is the project, which the nation has been keenly awaiting, but for some unknown reasons the work on it has still not started. Couple of months ago an article ‘Thar Coal and Energy Security’ by Muhammad Younus Dagha was printed in Dawn newspaper. Dagha is the secretary coal and energy Sindh. In the article, he had stated that final arrangement have been completed by Global Mining Company of China for Block-1 and another by Sindh Engro Coal Mining for Block-II. The mining on these projects shall reportedly start by June. Are these dates still valid? The public is desperately waiting for any good news about electricity. The Planning Commission should immediately clarify their statement on Thar coal and inform the public about the real status on start of mining.
In my recent paper ‘Electricity Crisis and Circular Debt’, it was explained that real cause of the electricity crisis in the country is due to faulty fuel mix as we are using the highly expensive furnace oil as the main fuel for generating electricity. The fuel cost to generate one Kwh (unit) of electricity through furnace is about Rs 17-18. This does not include the fixed charges for the plant, transmission and distribution costs and losses etc. Since the government cannot afford to buy the oil at this high price, therefore several thermal power plants are shut down or producing much below their capacity. A news item indicated recently that monthly requirement of furnace oil for power plants is 32,000 tonnes but only 10,000 tonnes of oil is being imported. Obviously the generation is accordingly low. The natural gas is another fuel which is being used but is in short supply and very little is available for generation of electricity.
The country needs $5 billion for the import of oil, only one-third of the amount will be required if the fuel mix is changed from oil. Globally about 21,000Twh of electricity is consumed per year, 41 percent of this electricity is generated through coal. China generates 78 percent of its electricity through coal, India 68 percent, USA 48 percent but Pakistan only 0.1 percent. The world does not use oil for electricity, as less than five percent of the world electricity is generated through oil, but Pakistan is using oil for 40 percent of its electricity, which obviously it cannot afford.
It’s time that we wake up to these realities, and concentrate on mining Thar coal and start generating electricity through this indigenous resource. Obtaining natural gas through fracturing of underground shale rocks is big news these days. The US is leading in this technology, and China is following very fast. Does Pakistan have any plans for expanding our natural gas production, again no information is passed on to the public.
The writer is president of the Associated Consulting Engineers, former managing director of NESPAK, and former chief executive of Pakistan Hydro Consultants for the Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk