E&P firms ask for CPEC force-like security

ISLAMABAD: The Exploration and Production (E&P) companies have asked for a separate security arrangement on the lines of CPEC force for petroleum exploration and development activities in frontier regions.

The E&P companies Tuesday submitted recommendations to a 20-member committee headed by Deputy PM Ishaq Dar for solutions to major oil and gas-related issues.

The E&P firms, under its forum of Pakistan Petroleum Exploration & Production Companies Association (PPEPCA), proposed to the committee a way forward to resolve the issue of circular debt of Rs2,900 billion in the gas sector. The Sui gas companies owe Rs1,500 billion to the E&P companies. The PPEPCA also stressed the availability of troops on multiple projects in Balochistan and KP, proposing the cost of security from LEAs be rationalised. “One-window facility needs to be established at the federal level, which should undertake all coordination with LEAs, provincial governments and the civil administration,” it suggested.