Gas production suffers as no exploration blocks awarded

PM special assistant on petroleum says govt is drafting new E&P policy

ISLAMABAD: Gas production in the country is witnessing a decrease of 5-7% because the previous government awarded no oil and gas exploration blocks during its five-year tenure, said Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Petroleum Nadeem Babar.

"Energy is an essential driver of the country's economy and to achieve high gross domestic product (GDP) growth, the economy needs reliable, uninterrupted and affordable supply of energy for which the government is making efforts," he said during a meeting with Ambassador of Denmark Rolf Michael.

According to statement of the Petroleum Division on Friday, the special assistant apprised that the government would ensure all possible facilities for interested manufacturers.

Sharing details of upcoming projects of the Petroleum Division, Babar revealed that the government was also drafting new exploration and production (E&P) policy by introducing seven major amendments to accelerate exploration activities in potential areas of the country.

It would be placed before the Federal Cabinet by August 2019 for approval, he said.



Pakistan has a total 827,000 square kilometres sedimentary area, out of which 361,000 square km is under exploration.

Around 1,100 exploratory wells have so far been drilled in Pakistan, the statement added.

Despite low density of the wells, the success of Pakistan's oil and gas discoveries is very impressive (1: 3.2), the SAPM said, adding that the Petroleum Division had identified 40 new E&P blocks.

He said five local refineries, which were basically hydro-skimming, produced only 12 million tons (mt) per annum of petroleum products against the current demand of over 25mt per annum.

"The upcoming mega refineries, which are being established in cooperation from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, coupled with expansion of other refineries and retail chains, will help in meeting local demand of petroleum products and their export to regional markets," he said.

Babar said that many foreign companies were interested in laying trans pipelines like Russian consortium, Chinese consortium and local Sui companies.

Stating figures, he noted that the country possessed two liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals while a handful of companies were interested to construct more LNG terminals.

He said the government was working to ensure smooth supply of petroleum products and accordingly lay oil pipelines in different areas.

Also speaking on the occasion, the envoy mentioned that many Danish manufacturers were interested to invest in wind turbine production in Pakistan.

Appreciating the steps being taken by the government to strengthen the country's oil and gas sector, he expressed confidence that there would be greater cooperation in the energy sector between the two countries in future.