By NNN-APP
Islamabad : Pakistan has sought German assistance in developing its oil shale potential and transfer of clean coal technologies for utilizing Thar lignite coal.
Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Amanullah Khan Jadoon has expressed this desire during his visit to headquarters of the German Institute of Geosciences and Natural Resource (BGR) in Hannover.
He has lead a three member Pakistani delegation to Germany to explore avenues of Pak-German cooperation in the energy sector, says a message on Friday.
The two sides reviewed the past cooperation between BGR with Pakistani institutions including HDIP, GSP and WAPDA.
BGR also informed Jadoon about their work in earthquake affected areas of Paksitan for damage prevention and mitigation purposes.
Jadoon highly appreciated the contribution of BGR in economic and social development of Pakistan and urged them to continue their good work in the energy sector in Paksitan.
He said that Pakistan economy’s growing at a rate of 7% per year requires increasing quantities of energy for its socio-economic needs.
In the wake of increasing international oil prices, Pakistan is seriously looking at developing alternatives to hydrocarbon, i.e., oil and gas. A significant potential of oil shale deposits was identified in Pakistan in Dera Ghazi Khan and adjoining areas by HDIP and BGR in 1990s.
Jadoon invited BGR to work with HDIP to asses feasibility and potential of economic utilization of oil shale resources of Pakistan.
The Minister also showed keen interest in BGR’s technology for up-gradation of brown lignite coal into smokeless briquettes which can be used as clean and cheap household fuels in rural and urban areas of Paksitan.
He invited BGR to develop technical cooperation with Pakistani institutions for production of such briquettes. He expressed the hope that this technology would be very useful not only for Pakistan but also for the entire South Asia region.
The Minister took round of BGR laboratories in Hannover dealing with petroleum geochemistry and application of satellite remote sensing methods in oil and gas exploration.
The two sides agreed to follow up on the leads identified during the meetings so as to prepare a comprehensive plan for approval of the two governments.