Developing Thar coal blocks
EDITORIAL (October 18 2007): The Sindh government has decided in principle to develop another seven coal-mining blocks in Thar to expand coal exploration operations in the province, says a Recorder Report. Various local and international mining firms have already carried out exploration work in four coal blocks.
According to sources in Sindh Mines and Mineral Development Department, the expansion in exploration work is meant to meet the growing demand for coal being used in thermal power generation.
At present coal production in Sindh stands at about five million tonnes per annum, and the department envisages increasing it to over 20 million tonnes by 2015. Sources in the department maintain that international tenders have been floated for securing expressions of interest (EoI) from national and international firms for developing two blocks in Thar.
Five coal-mining blocks will be developed in Sanghar, Khairpur and Tando Jam districts. Thar coal-field, spread over an area of 9,100 square kilometers, is the largest coal-field in the country. It is estimated to have coal reserves of about 175.506 billion tonnes.
Further, Thar coal is said to be the best for power generation. Although preference will be given to local firms, according to official sources, most of these firms lack the specialised equipment and technical know-how required for undertaking exploration and mining of coal on such a vast scale.
Tenders will, therefore, he awarded purely on merit. Meanwhile, the Sindh Mines and Mineral Development Department is planning to develop more coal-mining blocks in Lakhra coal-field near Dadu and Sonda-Jheruk coal-field near Thatta after carrying out feasibility studies.
According to a study conducted by a German firm, RWE Power Engineering at Thar coal-field, 1,000-megawatt coal-based power plants can be economically operated in this area. (A Chinese company, Shenhua Corporation, has in fact been working on the construction of two 350-megawatt power plants based on Thar coal).
The Sindh government, under a policy decision, has lately started encouraging projects that will use coal as the main input for industrial activities because this will relieve pressure on the more expensive fuels, such as oil and gas. Experts believe that after hydropower, coal has a substantial edge over other non-renewable sources as a relatively cheaper mode of electric power generation.
In view of the apprehended shortfall of electricity and other energy resources over the next 10 years, the demand for indigenous coal for power generation is expected to grow considerably.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has emerged as the seventh among the top 20 coal producing countries of the world after the discovery of huge lignite coal deposits in Sindh. Experts have estimated that Pakistan's energy requirements over the next five years are likely to grow at the rate of 7.4 percent per annum, because of the ambitious GDP targets set by the government.
This is a big challenge for the country's energy sector. According to available data, as many as nine companies including Sumitomo of Japan, Siemens and Reinhaul of Germany, AES Corporation of the US, Al-Jumaih Group of Saudi Arabia and Malakoff of Malaysia have so far submitted statements of qualification for setting up a 1000-1200 megawatt power project in Sindh. Realisation of the project is, however, nowhere in sight.
Their mindset has been mainly responsible for our failure to benefit from our huge coal reserves, which could have allowed us to get out of the tightening energy squeeze. Pakistan's current total mine-able coal reserves are estimated at two billion tons, which is 6 percent of the measured coal reserves.
Despite the presence of this huge unutilised coal treasure, the share of coal in Pakistan's total energy mix stands at only 5.5 percent. However, under a plan, coal's share in the country's energy mix will be gradually increased to 18 percent by the year 2018, which will still be far below that of India's 54.5 percent.
Further, our energy requirements will have been quadrupled by then. It is said that Thar coal reserves, estimated at approximately 185 billion tonnes, can produce energy equivalent to 400 billion barrels of oil or 850 trillion cubic feet of gas. In real terms this is greater than the combined oil reserves of any of the two major oil-producing countries of the world.
Experts believe that with the end of the oil era being not far off, coal-fired thermal power plants, with improved design, will find favour in the next 30 to 40 years.
In Pakistan, the Jamshoro thermal station, with 469 million coal reserves from Lakhra coal-field, best illustrates this point. The Sindh government's decision to develop seven new coal-mining blocks in Thar is indeed a move in the right direction, provided this otherwise commendable initiative does not fall a prey to dithering and self-serving expediency, yet again.
Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]
