Oracle Power and partners make payment to Pakistan regulator

Lignite mineral resource and mine mouth power plant developer Oracle Power advised the market that a collective payment of approximately $0.05m had been submitted to the Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) of the Pakistan Government on Tuesday.

The AIM-traded company said the payment served as the registration fee for processing it application for a letter of intent in relation to the proposed mine and power plant at Block VI, Thar.

It said the funds had been spent under the pre-development funding agreement reached with its consortium partners Beijing Jingneng Power Company (BJPC) and PowerChina International Group, which was announced on 31 January.

Each party had contributed in proportion to their intended shareholding, as was set out in the amended memorandum of understanding on 26 March, with Oracle contributing around $6,000 and its partners approximately $44,000.

The letter of intent, when approved, would be issued along with a ‘notice to proceed’, so that the applications for a generation licence and upfront tariff could be made to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority.

Following that, PPIB would issue a letter of support, which would allow the power purchase agreement to be finalised with the Central Power Purchasing Authority, as well as the implementation agreement with the Government of Pakistan.

The implementation agreement, among other things, would guarantee payments under the power purchase agreement, Oracle explained.

“This is the first time that our Chinese partners have injected capital towards project development on the ground,” said Oracle Power chief executive officer Naheed Memon.

“This payment to the Pakistani regulators reaffirms their interest and the consortium's eagerness to progress the project.

“We will keep shareholders informed as further milestones are achieved.”