Successful drilling and subsequent discoveries of hydrocarbon deposits will reduce the country’s fuel import bill: Hammad
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) on Wednesday awarded licenses to carry out oil and gas exploration activities in Attock district of Punjab province and Loralai district of Balochistan, under its strategy to make the country self-reliant in the energy sector.
Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar witnessed the Petroleum Concession Agreements (PCAs) and Exploration Licenses (ELs) awarding ceremony, a Petroleum Division news release said.
The ELs and PCAs were signed by Secretary Petroleum Division Dr. Arshad Mahmood,
Hammad Azhar said $ 30,000 would be spent to undertake social welfare activities in each well-drilling locality every year, which would help generate economic activity there and uplift the standard of living of locals.
He expressed confidence that with successful drilling and subsequent discoveries of hydrocarbon deposits, the country’s fuel import bill would reduce, adding the government had stepped up the efforts to identify and exploit the untapped existing mineral resources in potential areas across the country.
The minister said the government would award offshore oil and gas licenses in the coming few months.
He said the government was in the process of establishing new terminals for increased import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) aimed at meeting the country’s ever-growing energy needs efficiently. Besides, he said exploration activities had been initiated on war-footing to discover new oil and gas reservoirs in the country.
The work on Block No. 3068-9 (Nareli), located in Harnai, Sibi, and Loralai districts of Balochistan, would be carried out under a joint venture of M/s Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL), M/s Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL), and M/s Spud Energy Private Limited (SEPL).
While the work on Block No. 3372-25 (North Dhurnal), located in the Attock district of Punjab, would be carried out under a joint venture of M/s POL and MPCL.
The minimum firm work commitments for both blocks are $ 24.32 million for a period of three years.
