Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Petroleum Nadeem Babar Monday said the government would encourage private sector in energy sector by providing them level playing field so that an atmosphere of competition among all players would be ensured.

He said this in his address at a conference titled "Clean Fuels - Bio Fuels 2020." The conference was held at the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited auditorium. The Petroleum and Natural Resources Division organized the event which was attended by experts from leading energy departments and academia.

Following ease of doing business plan, the SAPM said the government removed bureaucratic hurdles to facilitate private sector in the energy sector. He stressed to replace previous trends of producing expensive energy with cheaper energy to overcome the circular debt. He said that almost 41 percent of electricity was produced from imported oil in June 2018 which was not good for energy security of the country.

Nadeem Babar said the UK announced to abolish the use of petrol and diesel by 2035 in power production, the world was moving towards electric powered vehicles and Pakistan an agrarian country should focus on agriculture.

He further said they would have to take practical steps instead of talking. "LNG prices have dropped in the last 10 years, it is likely that hydrogen gas will become commercial in next 10 years," he said.

He maintained the developed countries were producing cheaper electricity through biomass and waste. He stressed the need for taking practical measures to adopt required measures to produce energy through alternative resources including biomass, adding they [bio fuels) had such a potential that they could become a central source of fuel in the country during next 10 years. He further said Pakistan as an agrarian country should focus on producing clean bio fuels aimed at meeting its energy requirements indigenously.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

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