Govt acts against inaction of companies

ISLAMABAD: The Nawaz government has started taking action against the exploration and production companies that have failed to invest and start exploration and production (E&P) activities in due course of time after getting licenses.
Under the strategy, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has cancelled the licence of a Techno Company for not initiating any E&P activities after getting allotment of blocs. The government has also cashed in the sovereign guarantee of the company.
On top of that, the said company, the officials stated, would also have to face huge monetary penalty. For not complying with terms and conditions of the licence, the officials said that the Techno Company faced the music.
The Techno company factually failed to come up with the required investment and remained unsuccessful in initialing the drilling activities. The said company was allotted blocs for exploration and production for oil and gas in Islampura and Rahim Yar Khan.
The officials said that the proceedings against such exploration and production companies started a year back on direction of Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
The ministry has also served notices on the other exploration and production activities for not undertaking drilling in the 20 blocs allotted to them.As many as 10 exploration and production companies have been found breaching the terms and conditions of the licences. The official said that there were seven blocs that had promising prospects for reasonable reservoirs of oil and gas, but unscrupulous companies were just interested in getting the licences and selling them to other companies and did not come forward for initiating the drilling activities.