Coal as an energy resource once enjoyed the same limelight as tight and shale gas today. At a recent session by Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), prospects for exploiting shale gas in Pakistan were brought to the table with high profile representation from not only the company, but also the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, along with other government officials and foreign delegates. The benefits of unconventional resources have not gone unnoticed as majority of the energy production all over the world now makes use of these. First, it was coal which lies as coal bed methane in the subsurface, and now it is tight gas and shale gas reservoirs locked in impermeable hard rock and fine grained sedimentary rock, respectively. The paradigm shift from conventional to unconventional resources has been beneficial to the developed countries and emerging economies alike. What about Pakistan? The slogan, coal is the new gold has faded in the background with nothing promising in the pipeline and tight and shale gas have taken prominence. These new avenues could be a game changer for the country. However, there are high chances that the destiny of these would follow a similar pattern as that of coal. Pakistan has approximately 185 billion tons of coal reserves. However, there has been no conclusive progress with respect to the production of gas with coal reserves except for a few initiatives by the Coal and Energy Development Department. Earlier this year, during the Pakistan Energy Conference, it was claimed that Thar coal fields alone could reduce the energy import bill by $600 million and direct saving of $280 million to electricity consumers. One of the biggest challenge that has hampered the development of coal as an avenue has been the lack of interest by successive governments. Moreover, the petroleum lobby is very strong in Pakistan and is against any other means of power generation besides imported oil. It is estimated that Pakistan is blessed with 30-40 trillion cubic feet of tight gas reserves, all of which remain untapped so far. However, shale gas exploration requires huge investments in advanced technology, as these sedimentary rocks lie below the coal bed, tight gas reservoirs and gas reserves. Moreover, on a comparative basis, it entails a much more initial installation cost as the gas shale requires fracking-a technical procedure to create fractures in rocks, holding these deposits. Those who want to forget about coal argue over the environmental effects of using coal as a source of energy. It is also believed that coal in Pakistan has a high sulphur content, which decreases its quality. However, it should be known that underground water contamination is a huge risk in shale gas exploration. Also many countries are not very gung-ho about shale gas as it increases seismic activities like earthquakes. This is also true for shale gas reserves in Balochistan. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has drafted a tight gas exploration policy which offers a 40 percent premium over the respective zonal price offered as per the "Petroleum Policy 2009", which translates into a price of $3.2-$6 per mmbtu, based on the current slab. The pricing of the tight reservoir needs to be re-evaluated as gas pricing is quite low in Pakistan compared to the rest of the world. Gas shale will only have a future if the current law-and-order situation and political volatility give way to stability and policymakers focus on providing a comprehensive and sustainable solution to the countrys energy needs.
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