Hammad Azhar, Miftah Ismail spar on Twitter over use of furnace oil for energy technology

All of it started when Azhar tweeted a thread to “make clear some misconceptions” on the standing of operations within the nation’s refineries and using furnace oil.

The power minister stated that this summer season Pakistan confronted a “average scarcity” of furnace oil as furnace oil energy vegetation ran greater than final yr, attributing it to a benefit order that ranks obtainable sources of power in ascending order of prices related. He stated furnace oil needed to be relied on because of low water ranges in dams. Consequently, furnace oil consumption was 116% larger.

He went on to state that for winter, 200,000 tonnes of furnace oil has been imported because of three causes: the next demand projection, dangers of additional default by LNG cargoes and low inventory ranges at unbiased energy producers.

Azhar stated that thankfully, in the course of the November-December interval, no defaults of LNG cargoes have been skilled and so with LNG provide intact, furnace oil vegetation didn’t must run.

The minister continued to say that furnace oil vegetation are certainly operating once more at the moment however that’s due to decreasing flows from dams as canals have been closed (an annual exercise normally performed for upkeep functions). He stated that in a few days, these vegetation might be consuming 13,000 tonnes per day of furnace oil.

“Native refineries produce solely half that quantity and IPP inventory ranges are nonetheless under the required ranges,” he added.

He assured readers that the nation is “nicely stocked on furnace oil” in case any additional LNG cargo defaults are skilled.

In the meantime, the excess of furnace oil at some refineries is being given to IPPs whose furnace oil consumption “is already above 6,000 tonnes per day”.

Azhar additionally stated {that a} “new refinery coverage” is being finalised to shift refineries away from furnace oil manufacturing.