Pakistan's Economy - News and Updates

[The Accountant]

Doesn't he know CAD turned to surplus in July 2020.

He is referring to 2018

 

[ejaz007]

He is referring to 2018

Then his tweet is irrelevant in 2021.

 

[Path-Finder]

 

[farok84]

https://news.qna.org.qa/lang/en/w/article/1614342660028121500

Qatar Petroleum Enters into Long-Term Agreement for Supply of 3 MTPA of LNG to Pakistan
Doha, February 26 (QNA) - Qatar Petroleum entered into a new long-term Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO)for the supply of up to 3 million tons per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Under the 10-year agreement, LNG deliveries to Pakistan's world-class receiving terminals will commence in 2022 and continue until the end of 2031.

The SPA was signed in Islamabad by HE Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and Syed Taha, the Managing Director & CEO of PSO in a special ceremony held under the patronage and with attendance of HE Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, senior Pakistani government officials and HE Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar's Ambassador to Pakistan.

HE Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi welcomed the SPA signing and said: "We are delighted to enter into this new long-term agreement with Pakistan State Oil Company Limited and to continue our contributions towards meeting Pakistan's increasing energy demand."

HE Minister Al Kaabi added: "This agreement further extends Qatar's long standing LNG supply relationship with Pakistan and highlights our commitment to meeting Pakistan's LNG requirements. We are confident that the exceptional reliability of our LNG supplies will provide PSO with the required flexibility and supply security to fuel Pakistan's impressive growth."

HE Minister Al Kaabi concluded his remarks by saying: "With a well-established gas market and distribution system, Pakistan is a strategically important market for Qatar LNG. We are encouraged by Pakistan's exceptional growth and excellent economic potential as well as by the prospect of it being one of the world's fastest growing LNG markets. I would like to take this opportunity to thank His Excellency Prime Minister Imran Khan for his support and for his patronage of this special event. I also would like to thank Pakistan's energy officials as well as PSO's management for all their efforts and for the professional and transparent negotiations leading to today's important agreement."

Pakistan currently has two operational LNG receiving terminals, namely the Engro LNG Receiving Terminal and Pakistan GasPort LNG Receiving Terminal, both of which, utilize Floating Storage and Regasification Units moored in Port Qasim. There are a number of additional terminals currently under consideration by various private sector players in the country.

This is the second such agreement signed between Qatari and Pakistani entities since 2016, when Qatargas signed a long-term agreement to supply PSO with 3.75 MTPA of LNG. Today's agreement raises the total of long-term LNG supplies from Qatar to Pakistan to 6.75 MTPA. (QNA)

Price: 10.2% of Brent

 

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[farok84]

CCOE approves assessment of port charges on LNG vessels
Cabinet body endorses proposal of conducting independent assessment for better rates


Zafar Bhutta March 05, 2021

ISLAMABAD:
The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) has approved a proposal for conducting an independent assessment of port charges on liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels for better rates.
A meeting of the committee, chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, was held on Thursday.
The Petroleum Division informed the cabinet body that the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) was collecting 300% higher charges from LNG vessels compared to regional ports. Two state-run energy companies - Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) - had pointed out earlier that LNG vessels were still facing problems in navigating despite collection of $47.5 million in port charges by the PQA.
They were of the view that though PQA had collected $47.5 million, it did not spend the funds on development of infrastructure such as the navigation channel to handle LNG vessels. The Petroleum Division said that PQA first reduced the towage rate from $5.913 to $4.199 per gross registered tonnage (GRT) on February 1, 2017 and then to $3.706 on June 13, 2018.
However, these reductions were not applied retrospectively from March 2015 with the result that PQA overcharged the towage cost from 2015 to 2017. The Petroleum Division proposed that the towage rate should not be more than $2 per GRT.
The CCOE considered the proposal of reducing port charges based on an independent assessment. The proposal also emphasised the need for development work at Port Qasim. The CCOE approved the proposal of conducting an independent assessment for better rates. The committee noted that rationalisation of various port charges would benefit the end-consumers, through a reduction in the LNG cost.
The CCOE directed the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to immediately start infrastructure development work by using the financial resources available with PQA.
The committee noted that the improvement in port infrastructure and facilities should be the main priority of PQA. The Petroleum Division informed the cabinet body that the Channel Development Cess (CDC) was collected on the first 200 LNG carriers for channel widening and dredging.
PQA communicated that it would continue charging the CDC until complete recovery of its investment cost. However, the investment/project cost and update on dredging and widening of the channel was not provided by the PQA.
The Petroleum Division said that the passage of LNG vessels in the channel was adversely affecting the movement of other ships. All traffic in the channel stops when an LNG vessel is moving.
Due to the unavailability of night navigation, the charter cost is affected, which is ultimately reflected in LNG prices.
PQA is receiving port charges for handling imported LNG vessels, which are among the most expensive in the region. Main components of port charges are pilotage, towage and CDC. Pilotage charges stand at $3.706 per GRT and CDC is $100,000 per vessel.
Total charges per LNG cargo range from $600,000 to $750,000, which are 300% more than the average in other regional ports. These charges contribute to an increase of approximately Rs7 in the LNG price.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2021.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.

CCOE approves assessment of port charges on LNG vessels | The Express Tribune

The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) has approved a proposal for conducting an independent assessment of port charges on liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels for better rates.

tribune.com.pk

 

[Patriot forever]

CCOE approves assessment of port charges on LNG vessels
Cabinet body endorses proposal of conducting independent assessment for better rates


Zafar Bhutta March 05, 2021

ISLAMABAD:
The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) has approved a proposal for conducting an independent assessment of port charges on liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels for better rates.
A meeting of the committee, chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, was held on Thursday.
The Petroleum Division informed the cabinet body that the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) was collecting 300% higher charges from LNG vessels compared to regional ports. Two state-run energy companies - Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) - had pointed out earlier that LNG vessels were still facing problems in navigating despite collection of $47.5 million in port charges by the PQA.
They were of the view that though PQA had collected $47.5 million, it did not spend the funds on development of infrastructure such as the navigation channel to handle LNG vessels. The Petroleum Division said that PQA first reduced the towage rate from $5.913 to $4.199 per gross registered tonnage (GRT) on February 1, 2017 and then to $3.706 on June 13, 2018.
However, these reductions were not applied retrospectively from March 2015 with the result that PQA overcharged the towage cost from 2015 to 2017. The Petroleum Division proposed that the towage rate should not be more than $2 per GRT.
The CCOE considered the proposal of reducing port charges based on an independent assessment. The proposal also emphasised the need for development work at Port Qasim. The CCOE approved the proposal of conducting an independent assessment for better rates. The committee noted that rationalisation of various port charges would benefit the end-consumers, through a reduction in the LNG cost.
The CCOE directed the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to immediately start infrastructure development work by using the financial resources available with PQA.
The committee noted that the improvement in port infrastructure and facilities should be the main priority of PQA. The Petroleum Division informed the cabinet body that the Channel Development Cess (CDC) was collected on the first 200 LNG carriers for channel widening and dredging.
PQA communicated that it would continue charging the CDC until complete recovery of its investment cost. However, the investment/project cost and update on dredging and widening of the channel was not provided by the PQA.
The Petroleum Division said that the passage of LNG vessels in the channel was adversely affecting the movement of other ships. All traffic in the channel stops when an LNG vessel is moving.
Due to the unavailability of night navigation, the charter cost is affected, which is ultimately reflected in LNG prices.
PQA is receiving port charges for handling imported LNG vessels, which are among the most expensive in the region. Main components of port charges are pilotage, towage and CDC. Pilotage charges stand at $3.706 per GRT and CDC is $100,000 per vessel.
Total charges per LNG cargo range from $600,000 to $750,000, which are 300% more than the average in other regional ports. These charges contribute to an increase of approximately Rs7 in the LNG price.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 5th, 2021.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.

CCOE approves assessment of port charges on LNG vessels | The Express Tribune

The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) has approved a proposal for conducting an independent assessment of port charges on liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels for better rates.

tribune.com.pk

It will take a long time to correct the damage done by Plmn. Everywhere one looks, each and every deal is filled with incompetency corruption.

 

[PakistaniAtBahrain]

the rupee is getting stronger. one month ago $1=160 rupees, today its $1=157 rupees.

 

[Enigma SIG]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365616109911740416

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365617449790566405

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365618649713811456

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365619314880045058

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365620459816026113

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365621808515448832

Miftah should do a live debate on TV with the governments Finance Ministry and defend his numbers rather than going live on TV with *Khanzada and doing a one-sided analysis and fudging the numbers.

 

[Patriot forever]

Miftah should do a live debate on TV with the governments Finance Ministry and defend his numbers rather than going live on TV with *Khanzada and doing a one-sided analysis and fudging the numbers.

The program is fixed with haramzada.

 

[farok84]

It will take a long time to correct the damage done by Plmn. Everywhere one looks, each and every deal is filled with incompetency corruption.

Hi,

Do you have more information on why such a high port charge was levied? The article says $100k being charged for channel development, and comparing with the port charges in Qatar (under $150k), this leaves us with $370k-$500k higher charges. Ultimately, this extra amount is paid by PSO/ PLL and its consumers ($0.11-0.15/mmbtu). I just can't understand wisdom behind this. Was PQA going under and needed immediate rescue?

I will say PMLN was very efficient and competent at corruption.

 

[Chak Bamu]

Hi,

Do you have more information on why such a high port charge was levied? The article says $100k being charged for channel development, and comparing with the port charges in Qatar (under $150k), this leaves us with $370k-$500k higher charges. Ultimately, this extra amount is paid by PSO/ PLL and its consumers ($0.11-0.15/mmbtu). I just can't understand wisdom behind this. Was PQA going under and needed immediate rescue?

I will say PMLN was very efficient and competent at corruption.

Of course, PML-N was the sole owner of PQA: