Rs 338.215 mln released for petroleum sector projects in 11 months

May 17, 2019: The government has released around Rs 338.215 million funds for four ongoing projects of the Petroleum Division under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP 2018-19) during 11 months of the current fiscal year against the total allocation of Rs 463.175 million.

According to the official data issued by the Ministry of Planning, an amount of Rs 291.575 million has been released to acquire drilling rigs and  accessories for Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP),  Rs 13.736  million for appraisal of newly discovered coal resources of Badin coal field and its adjoining areas of southern Sindh, Rs 14.609 million for exploration and evaluation of metallic minerals in Uthal and Bela areas of district Lasbella, Balochistan and Rs 18.295 for assessment of coal potential in Nosham and Bahlol areas of Balochistan.

Meanwhile, official sources told APP that drilling activities in the Badin coal field had been stepped up for appraisal of huge coal reserves confirmed by the Geological Survey of Pakistan.

The sources said experts had collected core samples, completed their chemical analysis and geological logging of the exploratory boreholes.

Answering a question, they informed that two newly purchased multipurpose drilling rigs had been deployed at the Badin coal project site to carry out the drilling activities around the clock, adding that mud pits, foundation for rigs, ramps and mud ways had been prepared for the purpose.

The coal deposits are estimated to be over one billion ton, they said and added "the coal is of good quality and high heating value."

Recent geological investigations have shown that 186 billion ton of coal reserves exist in different parts of the country, which could be used as a primary and inexpensive source for power generation.

"More than 184 billion tonnes deposits are located in Sindh province, with Thar coal field being the largest followed by Thatta-Sonda, Lakhra and Jhimpir. The coal is lignite to lignite-A to sub bituminous B&C in character with an average heating value of 6000 BTU/lb," the sources said.

(APP)