Indigenous energy rich Pakistan needs to develop and implement a very aggressive EandP policy.

• Author: Ahmed, Khalil
• Position: Energy and Petrol - Dialogue with Sohail Butt - Interview

Byline: Khalil Ahmed

New govt must aim on the issues of demand/supply balance and offer investor-friendly environment for sustainability of the sector

Interview with Mr. Sohail Butt - an energy expert

PAGE: Tell me something about yourself and your career:

Sohail Butt: I have spent over twenty five years internationally in the energy sector value chain as a finance professional, systems and business process improvement specialist and as a consultant/advisor working with senior oil and gas executives to develop and implement value creating strategies in transformational and business development mode. I qualified as a Chartered Accountant from Ernst and Young, UK and most recently my focus is to provide consulting and advisory services for oil and gas, water and power, climate change and energy efficiency areas. In addition I also concentrate on developing sectorial reforms, improving governance at macro and micro levels and lobbying for improving project management discipline for implementation of energy sector projects in Pakistan.

I provide consulting and advisory services for developing energy and related business strategy for midstream and downstream projects for entities in Pakistan who are seeking either local or international collaboration based on my international career and resulting key contacts with international oil companies as well as the Middle East state oil entities.

I have also been extensively involved with print and electronic media highlighting energy sector issues in Pakistan and steps that must be taken to overcome the crisis in bringing about structural changes and improving governance throughout the energy sector value chain.

I also keep myself up to date on the developments in the world of oil and gas, the current developments, the future scenarios and ongoing impact of geo politics on energy prices, availability and sustainability at global, regional and country level.

My consulting firm Energy Energetics being a knowledge gathering and sharing platform helps me to achieve my objectives and help me in creating strategies for the energy sector in different time spans - short medium and long term. I am a strong supporter of applying latest project management techniques, tools and technology for implementation of all projects in Pakistan and specifically energy sector initiatives from conception to completion and commissioning. It is time to put maximum emphasis on merit, recruit qualified and well trained human resources who are than developed and mentored on a continuous basis to meet the changing needs of doing business today with a watchful eye on the future. This also equally applies to all operational entities as well as regulatory and watchdog bodies that need to regulate dynamically to remain competitive and remain ahead of the curve in regional and global contexts.

The world is undergoing massive transition in the field of energy and related technologies. The age of renewable energy has arrived with all its rapid innovations, efficiencies and cost reduction initiatives. In every year since 2011, renewable power generation technologies have accounted for half or more of total new power generation capacity added globally. This trend continues unhindered and is likely to continue despite challenges being faced in the post 'President Trump Era' where climate change policies of the US government are being reversed and fossil fuels are being encouraged again regardless of their impact on environment and resulting climate change goals. In future those entities and economies will survive, grow and flourish that can produce and deliver 'energy' in an environmentally friendly and economically sustainable manner on where required, when required and a least cost basis.

Accordingly in order to face the new challenges and competitive technologies in a rapidly innovative environment, a comprehensive and dynamic policy and strategy development framework would need to be established in different segments of the energy sector in Pakistan.

PAGE: How would you comment on the oil and gas exploration in Pakistan over the period of last ten years?

Sohail Butt: Pakistan is a very resourceful country in terms of indigenous energy availability both in terms of Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy. This can be gauged from the following facts. Exploration and Production (EandP) of Conventional Oil and Gas - Currently 827,000 Square Kms of sedimentary area out of which nearly 57 percent remains to be explored through concession blocks awarded or to be awarded both onshore as well as offshore has the potential to resolve our looming energy crisis. Also need to mention here that our past success ratio has been close to one out of every three/four...