HYDERABAD: Prominent scientist Dr Samar Mubarakmand, who is a member of Planning Commission, has said that Pakistan has worlds second largest coal deposits, which will take three to four years to be put to use.
He was speaking at a seminar on Coal bed methane (CBM) prospects of Sindh, a venture of opportunities for growth organised by the Centre for Pure and Applied Geology of the University of Sindh.
He said that although he was not an expert on coal but being a member of the Planning Commission whose responsibilities included developing the resources and preparing roadmap for national development he had studied Thar coal and visited Tharparkar several times.
He said that every Pakistani wished to put Thar coal into use for producing energy and work had started on eight blocks.
He said the world faced the spectre of fast depletion of energy resources. There were 45 locations in the world of natural gas which could be converted into diesel and electricity and help contain pollution, he said.
Robert H. Gales, vice-president of Geoscience, Weatherford, USA, said in his keynote presentation that Pakistan was among 10 countries with large deposits of natural resources including coal.
He said that the fossil fuel would be main energy producer in foreseeable future and coal would remain a primary source of electricity generation, to the extent of 40 per cent.
He said that several unconventional resources would play an important role in increasing the demand of coal bed methane, tight gas sands and basin-centered gas, shale gas, in-situ combustion (CBM and heavy oil), oil shale and methane hydrates.
About the current CBM activity in the world he said that North Americas shift to shale gas development, USAs CBM development, in-field drilling, Canadas development in select areas marked the shift.
Fossil fuels and specifically coal, he said, would play an important role in meeting energy demand in the foreseeable future. Alternative and renewable energy sources would grow and other unconventional resources would play a larger role in meeting energy demand, he said.
Pro-vice chancellor of the university Dr Rafia Ahmed Shaikh, director of the centre Dr Sarfraz Hussain Solangi, Dr Imdadullah Siddiqui and geologists Dr Imdad Ali Brohi and Dr Asadullah Kazi also spoke at the seminar which was attended by geologists from the University of Punjab, NED University of Engineering, Quaid-i-Azam University, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Bahria University, representatives of Sindh Coal Authority, PCSIR, Mineral and Mining Department and other research organisations.
DAWN.COM | National | ?Up to four years required to harness Thar coal?
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