POL prices move up
The government on Saturday raised the
prices of petroleum products by up to Rs4.71 per litre, citing the rising trend
in the international market. However,
following directives of
Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif, the government made a
partial increase of
Rs2.5 per litre
in the price
of high speed
diesel (HSD), which is
mostly used in agriculture
and transport sectors. The
summary sent to
the prime minister
had proposed an
increase of Rs3.57
per litre in the
HSD price. The
government has given
a subsidy of
Rs1.07 per litre in
the price of
HSD to facilitate
consumers following direction
of the prime minister. The new
price of HSD is Rs112.26 per litre. The price of petrol has gone up by Rs4.64
per litre, from Rs104.50 to Rs109.14 per litre. The price of kerosene, which is
used as a fuel for stoves in remote areas where liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)
is not readily available, has seen an increase of Rs4.71 per litre,
bringing its price up from Rs101.28 to Rs105.99 per litre.
Govt earned Rs595bn from oil, gas
in FY13
The
government collected about Rs595 billion
in different taxes on oil
and gas
in 2012-13, accounting
for almost 31
per cent of total revenues
collected by the
Federal Board of Revenue at Rs1,936bn. As
such, the oil and gas sector has
emerged as the single largest
contributor to Pakistan’s total revenue. According
to final financial
data reconciled by
the Accountant General Pakistan Revenue (AGPR), the
federal government was able to collect
Rs110bn as petroleum
levy on sale
of petroleum products
during the outgoing fiscal year
against Rs60bn a year before, registering an increase of 83pc. Likewise,
the government also
collected Rs32.2bn as
development surcharge on natural gas in 2012-13
compared with Rs23bn collected in the preceding
year, showing an
increase of 39pc.
Similarly, an amount
of Rs65.2bn was recovered
on account of
royalty on oil
and gas during
the year under review
compared to Rs62.8bn
a year before,
a 4 per
cent increase. In addition, the
government also collected about Rs23.8bn as Windfall Levy against crude oil
during the FY13 compared with no collection under this head a year before.
OMV discovers oil, gas at Mehar gas
field
The
Austrian Exploration and
Production (E&P) Company
OMV has announced
discovering of 18
Million Cubic Feet
per Day (MMCFD)
gas and 1,550 barrel crude oil
from Mehar gas field located in Ranikot area of Sindh. The presence
of hydrocarbons was
proven through wire-line
logging and testing operations.
During testing, a total of 18 MMCFD of gas plus an additional 1,550
barrels of condensate
(Gross 4500 boe/d)
flowed from the Ranikot
formation. The Sofiya-2 exploration
well is located
in the Mehar exploration block
in the Sindh,
around 10km north
of the Mehar
gas and condensate field. OMV
Maurice Energy Limited holds a 75 percent share in the exploration license;
joint venture partners are Government Holding Private Limited (GHPL, 5 percent),
Ocean Pakistan Limited (15
percent), and Zaver Petroleum Company (5 percent). The new discovery's proximity
to the Mehar field provides the opportunity of using the Mehar gas and
condensate plant for processing. The Mehar field development is in its
mechanical completion phase; production start-up is expected in Q4/13.
SSRL raises investment for Thar projects
Sino-Sindh Resources (Pvt) Limited
(SSRL) has reached a subscription and
cooperation agreement with a consortium of investors consisting of
Global Mining (China) Limited (GMC) and Asiapak Investments (Asiapak). SSRL is
planning to develop coal mine
with a capacity of 10 million tonne a year and integrated 1,200 MW mine-mouth power
plant in Block 1 of Thar coalfields, in which the company holds a 30-year
mining lease. The project cost is estimated at $2.6 billion for which a bankable
feasibility has been completed through China Coal Technology and Engineering
Group (CCTEG). SSRL was awarded the block,
which covers around 150
square kilometres, after a round of
international competitive bidding in
September 2011. The block
holds lignite coal resources of
nearly 3.5bn tonne including 600m tonne of
measured, 1.9bn tonne of
indicated and 1bn tonne of inferred resources. Under the terms of the
agreement, GMC will provide the equity funding for the project and will also
arrange the required debt facilities from a consortium of Chinese banks.
PTA with Indonesia goes effective
tomorrow
The Preferential Trade Agreement
(PTA) between Pakistan and Indonesia will become operational from September 1,
creating new opportunities for mutually beneficial exploration of the huge
trade potential that exists between the two countries. The last hurdle in the
actualisation of the PTA was affectively removed by the signing of Mutual
Recognition Agreement on Plant
Quarantine and SPS
Measures in Jakarta on
Friday. Pakistan Ambassador
Sanaullah and Head of
Indonesian Agricultural Quarantine
Agency (IAQA) Mrs
Banun Harpini signed
the agreement, according
to information made
available here. Indonesia has
signed MRA with only USA, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Canada. From South
Asia, Africa, Europe and Middle East, Pakistan has become the first and the
only country which will be able to export its fruit to Indonesia without subjecting
it to Indonesian Quarantine Rules and Regulations.
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