Sustainable energy availability will be one of the most important issues for Pakistan’s economic development over the next decade. Therefore Petroleum Institute of Pakistan (PIP) proposes to organize a Pakistan Energy Conference to highlight key energy issues in Pakistan and their possible solutions.
Pakistan's energy requirement is increasing rapidly every year. The primary energy consumption in Pakistan grew by almost 80% in the past 15 years from 34 million tons oil equivalent (TOE) in 1994-95 to 61 million TOE in 2009-10.
The country’s energy supply currently comes primarily from indigenous natural gas which is 45% of the energy mix and oil imports at 35% of the energy mix, with the balance from hydel at 12%, coal at 6% and nuclear at 2% of the mix respectively.
Supply of indigenous natural gas has provided major support for Pakistan’s economic growth over the past several decades and has enabled the construction of an extensive gas transmission and distribution grid in the country. Conventional gas reserves in the country are however expected to decline over the next few years and Pakistan needs to develop enhanced capability for exploration and production of offshore and unconventional gas reserves (tight gas, shale gas) and to arrange for significant gas imports via pipelines and as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Additionally Pakistan must move forward with development of its large-scale coal reserves in the Thar coal-fields to ensure security of long-term energy supply. Steady growth in renewable energy sources such as hydel, nuclear, solar and wind must also remain part of the energy mix in the country.
Meanwhile urgent reforms in the power sector are required to grow power generation capacity and enhance transformation efficiency. The current “circular debt” is also a major issue for the energy sector and has become a significant barrier for energy development in Pakistan.
International financial resources and technical expertise will be required for development of the diverse energy segments in Pakistan and this will provide attractive opportunities for investments by global energy and finance organizations.
The 2011 Energy Conference aims to bring together key local and international stakeholders, including the government, on one platform for an informed discussion on energy issues in Pakistan and to agree the way forward.
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