The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) have publicized its OICCI Energy Report 2019. The report is prepared after getting recommendations of the 31 leading international energy sector companies operating in Pakistan, who are members of the chamber.
Pakistan’s energy sector has witnessed significant transformation over the past five years, with the power generation capacity increasing rapidly to over 39,000 MW by mid-2019, with the inclusion of two large R-LNG based power plants.
Thar coal project and imported coal-based power plants leading to a major shift in the energy mix.
CE/Secretary General, OICCI, M. Abdul Aleem commented while presenting the report that OICCI Energy Report 2019 includes a number of recommendations to streamline the Oil and Gas and Power sectors.
The report recommended the upstream oil and gas exploration sector that besides the estimated 30 onshore blocks that might be available for bidding, offshore blocks should also be considered. About 5-10 blocks should be offered every 3-6 months, so that there was a steady flow of new acreage to accelerate indigenous exploration activities.
OICCI recommended that motor gasoline and diesel front and back-end price should be deregulated for the downstream oil refining and marketing sector,
Moreover, an Integrated Energy Planning (IEP) approach must be adopted and components of the power value chain should be liberalized to bring operational efficiency and reduce energy costs.
Abdul Aleem said “The Ministry of Energy is playing a pivotal role in introducing structural reforms to address Pakistan’s prevalent energy issues. However, it is imperative that relevant stakeholders, including the OICCI, are involved for these to be successful”.
He further said “OICCI is aware of the government’s plan to offer 18 onshore exploration blocks for bidding, approval for 5 LNG companies to set up regasification terminals at Port Qasim (PQA) and initiative to develop an Integrated Energy Plan.”
OICCI Energy Report 2019 is the collective effort of the 31 OICCI members belonging to the energy sector, who are associates of leading international players working in the areas of oil exploration, refining, marketing and distribution, coal mining and power generation segments. They cumulatively contribute over Rs 600 billion annually to the national exchequer and employ a large number of skilled and professional staff.
The nearly 200 OICCI members invested nearly $ 3.0 billion last year in new investments and employ about one million people with a significantly larger contribution to the socio economic development of the community.