Well Sir, four most reputable companies and there is still not a single megawatt obtained from Thar coal. That is the litmus test. Infrastructural support is part and parcel of any large scale power generation project and needs to be taken into account while determining overall feasibility. That is why Thar coal will remain where it is: underground. If it were high quality anthracite, leading companies would be all over it already. Some would say that Thar coal is not even coal, but B grade Lignite, which is just one step removed from peat.
because govt is not providing any infrastruture so pace is slow, especially the fedral govt( mainly punjab doesnt want it ? i dont know why?)
secondly it takes time the project didnt had any feasibility reports back in 1992 they simply just estimated the reserves..the feasiblity reports were completed only 2010..while minning is suppose to start in 2014..thats is pretty quick..
block 1 is govt held with no investment, block 4 is underground gasification with mere 1 billion rupees allowed till now!
the other three blocks are sino-sindh and engro sindh and oracle..sino coal coperaiton operate 30,000mw of coal plants..do you think they are idiots..
why investers not lining up, sir thats pretty obvious, the investment required is very huge while return was questionable till now due to lack of previous studies, infrastructural and more importantly circular debt no company is idiot enough to invest in 5-6 billion dollars if we wouldnt pay them..
remeber that pakistan till now had gas fired plants that would cost rs 4.0 ( even now for cement captive plant who make electricty by themselves rather than buying from govt), coal from imported may cost upto 8 while thar will cost 9 rs due to small scale minning..
what is needed that govt should take the lead in coal rather than waiting for foreign investors..you see large projects are rarely taken by foreign investors i thought you would have known that..now wind etc is different thing as investment is less than 300 million for each project...
imported coal is cheaper initially, cost with return is better, because govt (nepra) provides return on 4 years cost basis..so foreign investors usually think why not invest 500 million for 600mw imported coal plant rather than investing 4 billion for 2000mw intergated coal minning power project, its all about risk..afterall we have been rated c-- on credit rating not A+!!, we have even defaulted on sovereign grantee..a large company may default if it invest 5 billion dollars but would nt if it invest 300-600 million dollars(in then end we say that 10 rs is too much to pay! uptill now that was the situation as i said gas was only 4rs)
the best example is hong Kong coal sarray project company which ran away once we defaulted on sovereign grantees
their is only one issue with coal which has been faced and solved by companies elsewhere that high moisture content..engro thinks and many other experts that can be useful..you need to dry the coal before using it ..the water gained can be used for closed circuit power plants that utilize little water due to recycling of steam..there is also huge amount of underground water that can be easily pumped out for these plants
thar quality as per actuall samples drilled at all over the four blocks were
the Ash content ranges between 5.14 and 6.56 %, Volatile matter 26.50 and 33.04 %, Moisture 43.24 and 49.01 %, Sulphur 0.92 %, 1.34 % and 1.3% and Heating Values range between As (Received) 5,780 and 6,398 Btu/lb, (Dry)10,723 and 11,353 Btu/Lb MMM Free 6,101 and 6,841 Btu/lb, DAF 11605 and 12,613. The Volatile Matter Dry Ash Free (DAF) basis varies between 57.72 and 60 % the rank of coal is Lignite B to Lignite A.
oracle detailed study put it at gross calorific value of 3,182k calories per wet(NOT DRY) kilogram..that is well within lignite 3000-5000, peat has value of less than 2000
having said so countries have used even peat for power production!
summarize, even though Mou was signed for three companies for 10,000 mw, its unlikely that this scale will be achieved as govt is not providing infrastruture and isnt taking lead in investment. large companies wouldnt invest in local coal due to large investment required, due to poor track record and Pakistan previous defaultments..thar coal is usable(in between lignite A and B but not peat) and financial feasible for power production. however its likely that by 2018 we will see atleast some production from coal. those who deny well documented feasiblity reports from drawing rooms are hilarious. ofcourse it isnt anthracite, thats is a very high grade coal and can be easily exported at high price for benefits in other industries..foreign companies may have been more confident had that been the case.
alright what can I say, I can only provide hard data but if you are unwilling to accept any then it's more of a personal opinion thing. One thing I would agree, in a country where leadership can drown tens of billions on a 27 km stretch of road for halka politics, we would indeed be very lucky if they get the senses to invest in the right place
