Govt engages OGDC, PPL, MPCL to explore 4 blocks

ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) on Monday signed Petroleum Concession Agreements (PCAs) and Exploration Licenses (ELs) with three companies for oil and gas exploration in four blocks, of which one is located in Waziristan.

A statement said the government had engaged Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) for the exploration of new oil and gas reserves in the country.

Mian Asad Hayauddin, Secretary Petroleum, and Imran Ahmed, DG Petroleum Concession were the signatories representing Government of Pakistan, while Dr Naseem Ahmed, MD/CEO OGDCL, Moin Raza, MD/CEO PPL, and Lt Gen (Retired) Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed, MD/CEO MPCL, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective companies.

The minimum firm work commitment for these blocks has been worked out to $44.1 million for a three year period. The companies are obligated to spend a minimum of $30,000/year in each block on socio-economic welfare activities. The annual contribution towards such schemes for these four blocks would thus stand at $120,000.

The PCAs and ELs for Block No 3269-1 (Wali West) have been granted to MPCL, for Block No 3072-8 and Block No 2972-6 (Shakar Ganj West-Cholistan) to the OGDCL, while the PPL has been licensed to expolore Block No 3072-5 (Punjab).

Wali West Block that covers an area of 1609.63 sq-kms is spread over North Waziristan (64.71 percent) South Waziristan (27.73 percent), FR Tank (1.23 percent), FR Lakki Marwat (6.18 percent), and Bannu (0.16 percent).

The Cholistan Block traverses 2478.26 sq-kms and is straddled between the districts of Bahawalnagar (80.78 percent) and Bahawalpur (19.22 percent).

The Shakarganj West Block spans an area of 2479.37 sq-kms across the districts of Vehari (51.66 percent), Pakpattan (27.46 percent), Sahiwal (20.63 percent), and Bahawalnagar (0.25 percent).

The Punjab Block, covering over 2410.81 sq-kms, is primarily located in Pakpattan (42.78 percent), Sahiwal (41.58 percent), Okara (15.07 percent), and Bahawalnagar (0.57 percent) districts.

Omar Ayub Khan, Federal Minister of Energy for Petroleum Division, in a statement, welcomed the execution of the agreements and termed them an important step towards incremental investments in Pakistan's energy sector.

Khan added that it would lead to expanding the area of operations in far-flung areas of the country, contribute to the socioeconomic uplift of these areas, and hopefully increase sources of indigenous energy production in the country.