Pakistan plans to set up a coal mining company to help meet the country`s increasing energy demands, a senior government official told Reuters.

The new company - Thar Coal Mining Company - will be owned 20% by the coal authority in Singh province and 80% of the company will be offered to local and international companies, Rashid Hussian, a senior official at the Petroleum Ministry, told Reuters

Thar, in the southern province of Sindh, is Pakistan`s largest unexploited coalfield, is spread over 9,100 km2 and has estimated deposits of 175.5 Bt.

Pakistan currently produces about 6 Mt of coal but its economy is growing at over 6% a year and its energy needs are rising significantly, said Reuters.

Electricity generation capacity is about 21,000 MW, of which 39% is generated by fuel oil. Power demand last year was 15,000-16,000 MW hours.

Coal-fired power units currently contribute under 3% to total energy produced, however experts believe there is scope for large-scale utilisation of coal in power generation.

The country depends on fuel oil imports to meet its energy needs and has an annual oil import bill of over US$6.5 billion, added Reuters.

source news : mining-journal.com

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