Four Frontier Corps personnel and two private guards were martyred in an attack on natural gas and oil production facilities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa by terrorists on Tuesday, the police and the operator confirmed.
At least 50 terrorists stormed the facilities run by MOL Pakistan Oil and Gas Company, a unit of Hungary's MOL, in Thall tehsil of Hangu district near the Afghan border, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Irfan Khan said.
In the wee hours of Tuesday, the DSP said, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire at the security personnel stationed at the gas well in the Mianji Khel area, adding that the security personnel fought with them for two hours.
The police said the terrorists targeted two wells, known as M-8 and M-10, with heavy weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. The TTP have operated for years from remote mountains in the northwest, launching attacks on security forces and infrastructure in their campaign against the state.
"No MOL employee was present at the scene of the attack, six members of the security forces guarding the area were martyred," MOL said, saying the members of the security forces included Pakistani soldiers and third party contractors.
The company said in its statement to Reuters that production from the wells had been temporarily shut down by remote access and they were now secured, pending completion of an on-site regulatory investigation.
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It said production from other wells continued and the incident had not affected MOL's production in Pakistan.
"The security guards at M-8 repulsed the terrorists' attack but the casualties took place at M-10," DSP Irfan said, adding that they also damaged a solar power plant at the gas power plant.
He said the terrorists then fled under the cover of darkness to adjoining North Waziristan, from where they had originally come.
Fahad Rauf, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, said oil and gas output in Pakistan had been declining because there had been no major discoveries, amid poor security, rising debt problems and a lack of local technical expertise.
He said oil output had dropped 18% in 2022 compared to 2019, while gas production was down 14% in the same period.
"The country has exploited much of the existing producing areas but is not able to explore belts near the Afghan border due to the security situation," he said.
Rauf said foreign investment and exploration activity had picked up in the Waziristan belt but the situation had worsened since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in Aug 2021.
With foreign firms exiting, he said, "Pakistan lacks the expertise and funds to tap unconventional reserves despite having one of the highest shale reserves in the world".
(With input from Reuters)
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