There are so few good news that fellow members get excited over routine matters. Energy being of special interest I have been closely following Thar coal exploitation. For the record let us recap what has actually happened.
Thar Coal deposits were discovered in the late 1980’s. These have been thoroughly evaluated by now. The coalfield covers an area of about 9000 square kilometres (about 3,500 sq miles) and contains about 175-billion tons of Lignite Coal. The coal seam thickness varies between less than a metre to about 22-metres. The field has been divided into 10 manageable blocks with different companies allocated one block each.
http://www.smd.gov.pk/Portals/0/TharCoal Resourcesbrochure.pdf
Please note that according to study:
https://www.opfblog.com/9533/pakistan’s-thar-coal-a-comparative-study/
The reported reserves of 175 billion tons at Thar are not “proved-recoverable” reserves but rather the bulk of these reserves have a relatively low degree of geological assurance. Out of these purported 175 billion tons, only about 2.7 billion tons are ‘measured’ reserves while about 9.3 billion tons are ‘indicated’ reserves. The remaining 163 billion tons are “inferred” reserves (lying within a radius of 1.2 to 4.8 km from a point of coal measurement) and “hypothetical” reserves (undiscovered coal, generally an extension of inferred reserves in which coal lies more than 4.8 km from a point of measurement.
However, even if these reserves are only 3 - billion tons instead of 175 billion tons, still significant amount of electricity can be produced from Thar coal.
We must understand that any electricity eventually produced from Thar coal could be twice as expensive as that generated from large dams. The average power generation cost given the current generation mix of Pakistan is about 6.5 cents/kWh. Electricity from Thar coal would provide relief to consumers only if it can be generated at a cost lower than this but this is not so.
The coal is “Lignite”. The samples tested showed high moisture, high volatile matter and low ash. High moisture (i.e. between 21 and 44 per cent) lowers the flame temperature and increases transportation cost. High volatile (more than 29pc) is good for the stability of flame and it suggests that the coal is suitable for combustion and gasification purposes. Heating value is around 6,000 Btu/lb which is suitable for power generation
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1069526/thar-coal-separating-facts-from-fiction/
Thar Engro Coal Power Plant in the Thar Block -2 is located near Islamkot, Tharparker district. The project is part of the CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor), a joint venture between gov’t of Sindh, Engro Corporation & China Machinery Engineering Corporation.
Price of Thar Coal is set on a “cost plus” basis. Block -2 has approx. $1.57-billion tons & 95.2 sq. km. Levelized cost over 30-year life is estimated to be 7.33 c/kWH. According to Dawn of 30/12/2017, the total project cost is $1.945-billion, $845-m for mining, $1.1-billion for the power plant which at $1.6-million /MW is quite expensive.
The project started in 2014; it has taken 4 years to reach this stage where the coal has finally been extracted.
The News article quoted is a “Publicity” press release by the Engro Power Company. This has nothing new or extraordinary. It is not a new find. The company simply dug out the coal seam that had been known to be in place 30 years ago.
Pakistanis will pay for all the work in the price of electricity that includes a “Guaranteed” profit even if due to price fluctuations imported coal may turn out to be cheaper.
The company is doing a good job as the project is 6 months ahead of schedule. Pray tell me is this such a great achievement that all of us start jumping with joy?
