Chinese firms keen to invest in Pak oil, gas sector

ISLAMABAD: Chinese oil and gas companies have expressed deep interest to make contribution in the oil and gas sector of Pakistan to cater the growing demand of the country.
The interest was shown by the representatives from private and public sector oil and gas companies of China who participated in the workshop on Pakistan-China cooperation in the field of oil and gas sector held here on Tuesday.
Secretary Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Arshad Mirza led the Pakistani side while Yang Lei, DG National Energy Administration, China, was heading the Chinese delegation.
This was the first workshop between the two countries on oil and gas sector wherein both sides agreed to foster bilateral cooperation in the petroleum sector. The workshop was informed that Pakistan was endowed with an estimated 160 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves including 105 trillion cubic feet of Shale gas reserves. Exploitation of these resources requires huge investment besides application of state of the art technology and know-how.
Representatives from Chinese oil and gas companies also expressed their willingness to resuscitate the abandoned oil fields in the country through Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technique. Chinese companies were eager to invest in exploration of hydrocarbon techniques including the deep-water offshore exploration in the country.
Secretary Ministry of Petroleum in his concluding remarks appreciated the role and contribution of Chinese companies in the development of petroleum sector of Pakistan and their keen interest to invest in the sector. He expressed confidence that existing cooperation with china in petroleum sector would help Pakistan addressing the growing energy demand in the country.
The workshop was also attended by Additional Secretary Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Furqan Bahadur Khan; Joint Secretary Petroleum Syed Taquir Hussain Shah, senior representatives from Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and other high ranked officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources. Senior Officials from China Zhenhua oil Co Ltd; China National Offshore Company (CNOOC); United Energy Group Ltd; China Petroleum Pipeline Company; China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC); Kerui Group of China etc. also briefed about the products and their interest to explore further avenues of investment in oil and gas sector of Pakistan.