Oracle Coalfields does power station deal with China's SEPCO

21st Nov 2013 14:17

Oracle Coalfields has done a deal with a Chinese company to build a power station at a mine in Pakistan, sending its shares soaring.Oracle has signed an agreement with SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corporation to develop plans for a 600 MW coal-fired power plant at block VI in the Thar coalfield in Sindh province.It plans to sell about five million tonnes of coal a year from its mine to the power station, which will be built, owned and run by a newly incorporated power company.SEPCO will finance up to 70% of the debt for the power station and provide equity funding for a majority stake in the new company, with Oracle taking a minority interest.Oracle has already signed a joint development agreement with CAMCE, a subsidiary of the major Chinese state-owned enterprise China National Machinery Industry Corp, to develop the mine. Oracle's shares rose 0.7p to 2.68p by 14:48 in London.Oracle Chief Executive Shahrukh Khan said: "Once developed, Oracle's project at the Thar Coalfield in the Sindh Province will be uniquely placed to be a major supplier of power to Pakistan for the next 20 years and beyond."PW