Newly Appointed Minister of Planning & Development

Asad Umar, newly appointed Minister of Planning and Development on Friday, said the ongoing phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will bring socio-economic benefits to the well-being of the people.

According to the ministry's announcement

He was talking to Chinese Ambassador Pakistani Yao Jing, who called him today in Islamabad. At the meeting, Umar pointed out that the bilateral basic agreement between Pakistan and China has entered the second phase, focusing on poverty alleviation, agricultural and industrial cooperation. He said CPEC offered "great potential" to strengthen the national economy and reduce poverty.

The minister and envoy also discussed future projects to bring under the CPEC umbrella. The Chinese ambassador congratulated Umar for taking the post of federal minister for planning, development and reform and special initiatives.

The spokesman expressed "satisfaction with the progress of the CPEC project, noting that the CPEC project has accelerated since the current government seized power," the press release said. Yao expressed hope that bilateral partnership between the two countries will be further strengthened in the future.

Umar was announced Monday as a new planning minister in the Federal Cabinet seven months after resigning as finance minister. His planning managing director, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, received a portfolio of national food security ministers previously held by Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan.

At the time of his appointment

Internal sources told Dawn that the Chinese authorities involved in CPEC expressed concern about the activities of major ministers involved in communications, railways, planning and development. "The Chinese weren't even prepared to talk to these ministers because they couldn't make any progress on the timeline," he added.

A close adviser to the Prime Minister, who does not want to be named, said he wanted to provide the Minister of Planning to Umar because he is proficient in project management and able to expedite work on CPEC projects.

He asked why Bakhtiar took the planned portfolio, and the Prime Minister said he had made some reservations about the slow pace of CPEC's progress.

For his return to his cabinet, Umar said, as CPEC has entered the second phase, from infrastructure to agriculture, social sectors and industry, a strong approach is needed to bring the greatest benefit to the sector and deliver it. people.

Dasu Hydropower Project

The government has extended the deadline for financing and resettlement for the construction of the Dasu Hydropower Project to the World Bank by May 2021, as the time to use IDA loans for land acquisition and resettlement has disappeared under a financing agreement. Requested. I learned here. 

The task team, evaluating the government's request, advised the bank to accept a request to amend the withdrawal schedule of the financial contract in order to provide the bank with access to funds by May 20, which will allow it to acquire all the land.

The International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group has approved two credits of $ 190 million and $ 309 million, which have been in effect since November 2014. $ 398.10 m.

The land acquisition process was delayed due to the lack of intellectual data in the project area and the difficulty of reaching agreement on compensation rates. The decision on the revised rate adopted by the Federal Cabinet is now expected to complete land acquisition within the next 18 months. 

According to a restructuring report to extend the deadline for the use of funds for land acquisition and resettlement, financial contracts must be amended at the request of the Pakistani government. The paper stated that significant progress has been made in this project over the last six months.

Due to thorough supervision and enhanced project management, measures were taken to prevent progress. All major contracts were secured and the construction of the transition tunnel began. Most importantly, as the Ecnec and the Federal Cabinet approve the revised land fee, the deadlock in land acquisition has been resolved, and the award of the land will resume in earnest.

The Deputy Director

The Deputy Director confirmed that he was ready to receive 1,277 acres of awards in the priority construction area. Land for construction space will be awarded for the next three months, and the remaining land for the project is expected to be awarded within the next six months. Payment settlement and takeover may take longer but are expected to be completed in the next 18 months. Dasu Hydropower Project aims to promote Pakistan's expansion of hydropower supply.

The project will also build Wapda's capacity to improve access to socio-economic services for the communities in the project area and prepare for future hydroelectric projects. This can be achieved by installing 2,160 MW hydroelectric power plants on the main Indus river, which can be extended to 4,320 MW at very low cost in the future.

American Shale Revolution

The American Shale Revolution was a game changer. Not only did it change the Earth's energy dynamics, it also had a big impact on the relevant geopolitics. Many regarded the United States as the world's new oil king, not Saudi Arabia. For the first time since September 1978, shale production surplused in the oil trade.

A month ago, the U.S. Energy Intelligence Agency (EIA) set new production records in August, with US oil and natural gas production increasing 16% and 12pc respectively in 2018, making it the world's largest single producer in the United States. Oil and natural gas producers.

The Oil Export Organization (Opec) of the World Oil Outlook 2019 also acknowledged that the United States will surpass crude oil production in the next five years. Opham Secretary-General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo emphasized that "non-Otec supply prospects have improved dramatically, especially as US tight oil exceeded expectations

But all of this is currently focused

Will the current low oil prices explode the US shale revolution? Increasing US oil production is a major slowdown. The IHS Markit forecast for oil market fundamentals for 2019-2021 predicts that the total increase in U.S. production in 2021 will be 400 million barrels (bpd) per day in 2020. Slow growth is expected to resume in 2022.

In contrast to the boom in recent years, IHS Markit cited words like Raoul LeBlanc, vice president of vision, North America. LeBlanc explains, “This is an era of new review for shale producers, as it has not grown at all by 2021, with annual growth of nearly 2 million bpd worldwide in 2018. "This is a dramatic change a few years later, where annual growth of over one million barrels per year was the norm.

IHS Markit, which expects WTI prices to average around $ 50 in 2020 and 2021, said capital expenditures for onshore drilling and completion were $ 10 billion, down 10pc this year, about $ 9 billion at 12pc by 2020, and in 2021. Expect to drop about 8pc to 8pc. – In just three years, annual spending has dropped by approximately $ 20 billion.

LeBlanc said

We have seen the strongest headwinds for shale producers since the collapse of oil prices in 2015. Investors are no longer trying to write blank checks to the industry. The company that emerged the United States as the world's leading oil and gas producer is in crisis and still rich. Bankruptcy, dismissal and drilling stopped.

Harley Burton fired about 3,000 workers. Employment is almost completely stagnant since it grew more than 11pc last year in the Permian basin, the largest oilfield in the United States. Meanwhile, many small producers with debt are struggling to pay off debt.

This has resulted in nearly 30 bankruptcies by this year. All of this is limiting production growth. But EIA does not give up. The EIA raised its WTI crude oil price forecasts to $ 55 and $ 54 each in November and $ 56 per barrel in November and $ 1 per barrel in January and January, respectively, in the November Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO).

As the price outlook increased

The EIA raised its US crude oil production outlook to 30,000bpd (0.2pc) from its October STEO. Forecasts for next year's production also increased 119,000bpd, or 0.9pc, compared to the forecasts provided in the October forecast. The US administration is currently focusing on energy security or "energy governance.

Last Thursday, it announced plans to allow oil drilling on more than three-quarters of the nation's largest unprotected wilderness, and about 23 million acres of national oil reserves in Alaska. One of the most ecologically valuable places, but has a promising oil prospect.

Recently, it has been found that it can hold 8.7 billion barrels of unidentified crude oil. If the administration proceeds with this plan, it can significantly increase the output of the United States. Despite the actual headwinds, US energy dominance is here to stay for more time.