US energy firms asked to invest

Pakistan seeks capital injection into oil and gas exploration blocks

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has invited US companies to participate in the auction of licences for 10 oil and gas exploration blocks advertised last week.

The offer was made at a virtual conference, hosted by the US Pakistan Business Council, titled “Explore Pakistan: A US Pakistan Business Council Virtual Series on Business Opportunities in Pakistan’s Energy Sector” on Friday.

Speaking at the event, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Petroleum Nadeem Babar highlighted the business climate in Pakistan’s oil and gas sector and the government’s pro-business policies.

He was of the view that the refining sector in Pakistan was in need of overhaul and with a large middle-income population with growing energy needs, the current capacity of refineries was unsatisfactory.

He encouraged US companies to invest in that area as the government had provided incentives for brownfield and greenfield investment in oil refineries.

The PM aide pointed out that Pakistan was looking for foreign investment in its upstream petroleum sector and last week advertised 10 blocks for the award of petroleum exploration rights (exploration licence). He invited US firms to participate in the bidding process.

He announced that the Petroleum Division, Ministry of Energy, would soon offer a block for offshore exploration as well.

Speaking about the upcoming gas infrastructure, Babar said work on a new trunk pipeline over 1,100 km and capable of transmitting 1.6 billion cubic feet per day from the south to north of the country would begin in the first quarter of 2021.

He emphasised that plans for underground gas storage facilities and onshore gas terminals were being actively pursued by all the stakeholders and US companies should tap such opportunities.

Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan, while speaking on the occasion, stressed that the US was an important business partner of Pakistan and appreciated that there was a strong footprint of US companies in Pakistan’s energy sector which were familiar with the market.

He outlined the government’s policy initiatives for increasing the share of renewable energy in the total energy mix and sought US investment in the area.

He pointed out that the government was introducing a competitive market for power distribution and had developed the Integrated Generation Capacity Expansion Plan to align the country’s demand and supply parameters and investment decisions accordingly.

He said a specific policy for small hydroelectric power projects had been framed to ensure that benefits of renewable and cheap electricity were available to consumers. “While increasing the capacity to ensure sustainable electricity supply, an effort to move towards cleaner fuel is being made,” he said.

Embassy of Pakistan Deputy Chief of Mission Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani and US Embassy Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Richard Snelsire, who also spoke at the event, underscored the importance of furthering US-Pakistan trade and investment relations.

The US Department of Commerce and representatives of the Board of Investment, Ministry of Maritime Affairs, chambers of commerce, Oil and Gas Development Company and Mari Petroleum participated in the virtual conference.

US Pakistan Business Council Chairman and Excelerate Energy Managing Director Steven Kobos, who chaired the event, underlined that the virtual series had been initiated to reinvigorate the development of US-Pakistan business portfolio, especially in the energy sector.