1. E N E R G Y I S S U E S I N P A K I S T A N
Pakistan Energy
From 1947 to the early 1990s, the economy made considerable progress in the transformation
from a wood-burning base to modern energy sources. The process remains incomplete. Bagasse
(the woody residue left over from crushed sugarcane), dung, and firewood furnished about 32
percent of all energy in FY 1988. Some localities had been denuded of firewood, forcing the
local population to use commercial energy sources, such as kerosene or charcoal. Domestic
sources of commercial energy accounted for 77 percent of all commercial energy in FY 1990.
The major domestic energy resources are natural gas, oil, and hydroelectric power. The
remainders of energy requirements are met by imports of oil and oil products.
Crude oil production increased sharply in the 1980s, from almost 4.0 million barrels in FY 1982
to 22.4 million barrels in FY 1992. This increase was the result of the discovery and
development of new oil fields. Despite this expanded production, however, about 28 million
barrels of crude oil were imported annually in the early 1990s. The production from domestic oil
refineries also rose in the 1980s, reaching 42 million barrels annually in the early 1990s.
However, oil products imports accounted for about 30 percent of the value of all oil imports.
Pakistan vigorously pursued oil exploration in the 1980s and early 1990s and made a number of
new discoveries. In the early 1990s, the most productive oil field was at Dhurnal in Punjab,
accounting for 21 percent of total output in FY 1993. The Badin area in southern Sindh was the
site of a number of discoveries in the 1980s, and its proportion of total output has continued to
increase over the years. In the early 1990s, more favorable terms on pricing and repatriation of
profits stimulated the interest of foreign oil companies. About twenty foreign companies are
engaged in oil exploration, but poor security for workers and property in remote areas of
Balochistan and Sindh remains a significant constraint on foreign investment.
Some development of renewable energy sources has been undertaken, primarily for rural areas so
isolated they would not otherwise have electricity in the foreseeable future. The aim is to
upgrade village life while lowering urban migration.
Solar Energy
Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been harnessed by humans since
ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation along with secondary
solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass account for most of

2. the available renewable energy on Earth. Only a very small fraction of the available solar energy
is used.
Solar power technologies provide electrical generation by means of heat engines or
photovoltaics. Once converted its uses are only limited by human skills. A partial list of solar
applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, potable water via
distillation and disinfection, daylighting, hot water, thermal energy for cooking, and high
temperature process heat for industrial purposes.
Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on
the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight. Active solar techniques include the use of
photovoltaic panels, solar thermal collectors, with electrical or mechanical equipment, to convert
sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun,
selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing
spaces that naturally circulate air.
In pakistan this energy is not being used.
Turkish Firm to Invest USD 500 million in Windmill Project
In an article presented in the Business Recorder on the 27th of March 2009, it has been reported
that ZorluEnergi, a Turkish will be investing USD 500 million in a windmill project in Pakistan.
The project is expected to be developed in Sindh and is expected to generate 50 MW of
electricity. The company expects to expand their power generating capacity to 300 MW in the
next 5 years.
This is seen as a great boost for alternative energy in Pakistan, as the country is suffering from a
huge energy crisis. As Pakistan is a net importer of energy resources, this development has
rekindled the aspirations that one day Pakistan will be able to become energy self sufficient. The
hope of many in Pakistan is that this will be the first of many such projects in the country and it
will go a long way in reducing its energy crisis in the long term.(By Harris Ahmed Khan)
Current & Future Consumption of Energy in Pakistan
The Asian Development Bank estimated that Pakistan was not developing into a prime producer
of greenhouse gas emissions like most other developing countries. In a study conducted by the
ADB, it was calculated that on a per capita basis, Pakistan produced 0.7 tons of GHG emissions
compared to 25 tons being produced on average by people living in the US & Canada. Even in
comparison with other developing, the percentage of GHG emitted was a lot less with the
average emissions per capita for developing countries being at 2.1 tons.

3. The primary reason for such low levels of emissions has been due the large scale fuel switching
in industries which saw them change their primary source of energy from natural gas and coal to
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). However, the study also found that the present amount of
energy being consumed by the country is not efficiently generated nor properly distributed. The
study highlighted the fact that Pakistan consumed 5.0 times as much primary energy to produce a
unit of GDP as compared to Bangladesh, 3.4 times as much as Sri Lanka or 2.3 times as much as
Nepal.
With the countries current demand for energy resources rising rapidly, especially in the case of
electricity, where ADB estimated that it is growing at 12 percent per annum. Pakistan needs to
focus more on energy conservation and alternative sources of energy in order to become more
productive and increase its economic growth.
Current & Future Consumption of Energy in Pakistan
In an article printed in the Business Recorder on March 26th 2009, the Asian Development Bank
estimated that Pakistan was not developing into a prime producer of greenhouse gas emissions
like most other developing countries. In a study conducted by the ADB, it was calculated that on
a per capita basis, Pakistan produced 0.7 tons of GHG emissions compared to 25 tons being
produced on average by people living in the US & Canada. Even in comparison with other
developing, the percentage of GHG emitted was a lot less with the average emissions per capita
for developing countries being at 2.1 tons.
The primary reason for such low levels of emissions has been due the large scale fuel switching
in industries which saw them change their primary source of energy from natural gas and coal to
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). However, the study also found that the present amount of
energy being consumed by the country is not efficiently generated nor properly distributed. The
study highlighted the fact that Pakistan consumed 5.0 times as much primary energy to produce a
unit of GDP as compared to Bangladesh, 3.4 times as much as Sri Lanka or 2.3 times as much as
Nepal.
With the countries current demand for energy resources rising rapidly, especially in the case of
electricity, where ADB estimated that it is growing at 12 percent per annum. Pakistan needs to

4. focus more on energy conservation and alternative sources of energy in order to become more
productive and increase its economic growth.