make your day

This should make Len and Cougar investors happy.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=90465&Cat=3

KARACHI: The hopes of the Thar Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) project are expected to come true, as President Asif Ali Zardari has taken notice of the non-release of funds for the landmark and yet cash starved project and has issued orders to convene a meeting soon to review the situation.

Dr. Mohammad Shabbir, Managing Director of Thar UCG Project, expressed hope that the President would order immediate release of funds at the said meeting and as soon as the funds were released, they would be able to generate 100MW of electricity within three years.

Sources said that Prime Minister besides Finance Minister, Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, who had been sceptical to the project and few other ministries, would attend the meeting that has not been scheduled as yet.

Dr Shabbir told The News that there were certain vested interests and lobbies that were creating baseless propaganda against the project.

Overall, $1.2 billion were required for the proposed 84 gasifiers of UCG project and its financial feasibility report has already been send to the government for approval.

So far the project has received just Rs984.9 million, while nothing has been released out of the Rs1095 million allocated in PSDP 2011-12.

Dr. Shabbir said that the present government was serious about the project, as it had provided the required facilities to UCG.

“We have planned to purchase some engines of 1.5MW each to use the gas for generating power and the project would be able to generate at least 100MW of power three years, the funds are released,” he said.

“There were long delays seen to receive pledged funds from the provincial and federal governments that had extended the completion of the project.”

Sindh government, which claims to have explored Thar reserves is also yet to release the decided Rs200 million to the project while the federal government pledged funds to the tune of Rs5.0 billion were not transferred for purchasing power engines and other equipments for UCG.

It may be mentioned here that UCG is a better alternative to explore the huge reserves of coal as compared with mining process that needs heavy investment besides the technical and processing hindrances in the area.

The UCG project at Thar, which is the government funded pilot project, started under the supervision of the renowned scientist Dr. Samar Mubarakmand and is successfully producing gas.

Currently, only one gasifier had started producing gas while 17 other units were in the pipeline. At least 50 gasifiers would be established in one square KM of the Block-V, which was stretched over 64 square KM, Dr Shabbir said.

“One gasifier was being built at the cost of Rs1.2 billion making the total cost of 84 units at around Rs101 billion or $1.12 billion,” he said.

Dr Shabbir informed that the electricity generated through the process would be available at $16 per MW as compared to $77 per MW and $69 per MW through integrated gas combined cycle and natural gas combined cycle, respectively.

Besides, the project would also generate 2,000 barrels of diesel per day, which would help significantly reduce the petroleum products’ import bill of the country.

There were plans to extend the project from 18 to 84 gasifiers. According to an estimate, a gasifier could easily produce the required gas for at least 10 years.

Dr. Shabbir, with the help of presentations and international data, categorically negated the propaganda that there were any human or environmental hazards over the workers and residents of surrounding areas of the project.

The whole setup could be relocated in the area with less expenditure, besides the project has no environmental implications as compared to mining, he said.