Pakistani coal reserves equal 618 billion barrels of oil, twice oil reserves of Saudi Arabia

Posted on 15 November 2008. Tags: Pakistani coal, Pakistani oil reserves

Pakistan coal reserves are estimated at 175 billion tons which according to the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Punjab University, Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran equal 618 billion barrels of crude oil. According to the most reliable analytical reports Saudi Arabian crude oil reserves are estimated at around 260 billion barrels. At 60 Dollars per barrel this equates to 3708 Billion Dollars or approx. 4 Trillion Dollars (at current prices). At future prices these reserves will be worth 8 or 24 Trillion Dollars. This is enough money to build the most modern infrastructure, the best roads, the best hospitals, the best education, the best universities, the best hi-speed rail system and the best public transportation system on the planet.

LAHORE: Punjab University (PU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran has asked Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to direct the Finance Ministry to release funds for the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Speaking at the inauguration of the Institute of Coal Technology at PU New Campus on Friday, Kamran said that the government had stopped the funding of HEC, resulting in the commission being unable to release grants to universities and teachers who were facing problems, according to a press release. He added that many development projects of the HEC were being adversely affected by the financial cuts. He said that the government should not “paralyse universities by stopping the HEC’s funds”

It is pedalogical to know that Saudi Arabia only sells about 9 Billion Barrels of Oil per day. It has the best infrastructure in the world, with a cradle to grave welfare system for its citizens, superb freeways, fantastic hospitals and an infrastructure that is the envy of the world.

Summary of Reserve Data as of 2007
Country	Reserves ¹		Production ²		Reserve life ³
Country	10⁹ bbl	10⁹ m³	10⁶ bbl/d	10³ m³/d	years
Saudi Arabia	260	41	8.8	1,400	81
Canada	179	28.5	2.7	430	182
Iran	136	21.6	3.9	620	96
Iraq	115	18.3	3.7	590	85
Kuwait	99	15.7	2.5	400	108
United Arab Emirates	97	15.4	2.5	400	106
Venezuela	80	13	2.4	380	91
Russia	60	9.5	9.5	1,510	17
Libya	42	6.7	1.8	290	63
Nigeria	36	5.7	2.3	370	43
United States	21	3.3	4.9	780	11
Mexico	12	1.9	3.2	510	10
Total of top twelve reserves	1,137	180.8	48.2	7,660	65
Notes: 1 Claimed or estimated reserves in billions (10⁹) of barrels (converted to billions of cubic metres). (Source: Oil & Gas Journal, January, 2007) 2 Production rate in millions (10⁶) of barrels per day (converted to thousands of cubic metres per day) (Source: US Energy Information Authority, September, 2007)^[15] 3 Reserve to Production ratio (in years), calculated as reserves / annual production. (from above)

A couple of Chinese companies have already signed Memorandum’s of Understanding to excavate and process this clean coal energy.

He said that the country must focus on establishing coal power plants as Pakistan has one of the largest global coal reserves. Kamran said that ultimately Pakistan had to resort to coal power generation and the PU Institute of Coal Technology would play a key role in this regard. Speaking on the occasion, institute Director Dr Shafqat Nawaz said that coal remained a major energy source for a large number of countries, including China, which meets 78 percent of its electricity demand from coal; and India, which fulfills 77 percent of electricity demand from coal.

“Thar coal reserves have 175 billion tonnes of coal, which is equivalent to 618 billion barrels of crude oil,” he added.

Pakistan’s credit crunch in temporary. Once the country gets over the hump in the next few years, it can begin improving its infrastructure which is the best in South Asia even now.

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Pakistan Vision 2020 « Strategic Thinking and Policy Institute says:

January 1, 2009 at 5:28 pm

[...] Pakistani coal reserves equal 618 billion barrels of oil, twice oil reserves of Saudi Arabia. Coal mining and generation of electricity is a huge opportunity for investors because Pakistan has [...]

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