E&P sector firms announce $5bn investment in Pakistan’s oil and gas sector

ISLAMABAD: The local and international firms of Pakistan’s oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) sector, expressing confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Saturday announced an investment of US$5 billion in the next three years.

The announcement was made in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz at the PM House.

A delegation of oil and gas exploration and production sector companies told the meeting that in three years, around 240 places would be excavated with an investment of $5 billion to explore petroleum and gas in Pakistan, the official news agency reported.

The prime minister constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar that would include experts, secretaries and relevant authorities.

The committee, after consultation with the representatives of the sector, would formulate proposals to create an attractive policy for the exploration and development of petroleum and gas reserves in Pakistan.

PM Shehbaz directed the relevant authorities to solve all the problems of the sector, and submit policy proposals to the constituted committee on priority.

The delegation thanked the prime minister for making the petroleum and gas exploration and production sector a part of the consultation process, listening to their problems and finding serious solutions to them.

The meeting was informed that currently Pakistan’s domestic production stood at 70,998 barrels and 3,131 MMSCFD gas per day.

The prime minister invited petroleum and gas exploration and production companies to also find offshore reserves.

“Exploring oil and gas reserves at the local level in Pakistan is our top priority,” PM Shehbaz said, adding that Pakistan spent billions of dollars every year on importing oil and gas.

“Production from local reserves will save Pakistan’s valuable foreign exchange and fuel and gas will become affordable for the common man,” the prime minister said.

State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jamil Ahmed told the meeting that on the prime minister’s special instructions, all the remittances (profit of the business) had been sent to the respective countries of the oil and gas production companies.

The meeting was attended by Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Mohsin Naqvi, Engineer Amir Muqam, Ahsan Iqbal, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jehanzeb Khan, Coordinator to PM Rana Ehsaan Afzal, Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Amjad Zubair Tiwana, representatives of domestic and international companies and relevant high officials.