Speakers and experts at a workshop on "Ways and Means to Overcome Energy Crisis in Pakistan' have urged the government to find other means to explore, exploit and conserve energy resources, if the country is to overcome the ongoing power crisis. The workshop, held at the Abdul Qadeer Khan auditorium of the Federal Urdu University for Science and Technology, will continue till Wednesday. Talking to Daily Times, Sindh minister Syed Sardar Ahmed said that the efforts being made now should have been undertaken 10 years ago. However, he was quick to point out that it was still not too late and that by conserving energy the power crisis could be overcome and the people's suffering minimized. "We have to explore alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and hydro energy. Our basic problem is the lack of collective efforts with the administration, research and bureaucracy going in different directions,' said Ahmed. Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan Director General and Chief Executive Hilal A Raza told Daily Times that the country was fast using up its energy reserves and if energy conservation measures were not implemented, the crisis could deepen. According to him, the demand of petroleum products in 2007 was 18 million tons, which could increase to 24.2 million tons by 2010, 26.5 million in 2015 and 23.8 million in 2020. He added that 12 million tons of oil were being produced by local oil refineries in 2007 and the number could rise to 12.8 million tons by 2010, 13.1 million tons in 2015 and 13.4 million tons in 2020. "The deficit in 2007 was 7.5 million tons, while, according to the projected levels, the deficit would be 12.7 million tons in 2010, 14.8 million tons in 2015 and 12 million tons in 2020,' said Raza. He informed that the government was also working on better standards for geysers, stoves and heaters, as these consume 20 to 30 percent more gas during the winter. Talking to Daily Times, New Horizon Exploration and Production Ltd General Manager Exploration Nusrat Kamal Siddiqui said that around 4,500 barrels of oil were consumed per day by the country, at a cost of $ 12 billion annually, thus making the exploration of alternate energy sources imperative. "Pakistan should use readily available energy resources such as coal, biomass and solar energy. In addition, we should focus on importing gas from Iran or other Central Asian states, as these countries have huge reserves,' said Siddiqui. He lamented the fact that the construction of a number of dams had been halted due to political issues, adding to the power crisis. "The government should dig tunnels from rivers, which could make possible the production of hydroelectricity,' suggested Siddiqui. According to him, the daily world demand of oil is expected to increase from the 76 million barrels a day (MMbbl) in 1999 to 112 MMbbl in 2020. He informed that the Organization of Petrol Exporting Countries' (OPEC) supply is also expected to increase from 27 MMbbl to 55.5 MMbbl during the same period and that, at an average, 4 barrels of oil were consumed for each barrel discovered. Siddiqui stressed that the share of coal-derived energy be brought to 25 percent and that the Neelum River Project needed to be completed as soon as possible. "We should seriously think of using wind energy in coastal areas, biomass in rural areas and building more dams and tunnels. Although its setup costs are high, solar energy is progressing and will become cost-effective over time,' said Siddiqui, adding that the energy received from the Sun in one hour is more than the annual world energy production. According to him, covering just 0.5 percent of the world's deserts with mirrors, as per the Concentrated Solar Power technology, would generate enough electricity to fulfill the world need. Explaining the procedure, he said that it was designed to produce DC current, which has a loss value of 3 percent per 1000 km. "An investment of $3 million to $5 million would be required for each installation but the technology is extremely environmentally friendly, even contributing towards the reduction of CO2 levels,' said Siddiqui.