Govt gives nod to OGDCL to explore oil, gas in 5 blocks
Islamabad
Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar has said that natural gas resources are depleting by 10 percent every year and efforts are underway to discover new reserves of oil and gas in the country to meet the increasing demand.
The minister said this while addressing a ceremony on Monday, wherein the government executed five petroleum concession agreements and exploration licences with the Oil and Gas Development Com-pany Limited (OGDCL).
Hammad said that these efforts will bear fruits for the country in the form of additional hydrocarbon reserves during the next few years.
The minister said the execution of the exploration licences and the petroleum concession agreements will not only enhance investment in the petroleum sector but will also contribute in bridging the energy demand and supply gap.
The exploration licences and petroleum concession agreements were signed by Dr Arshad Mahmood, secretary of the Petroleum Division, Abdul Jabbar Memon, director general of the Petroleum Conces-sions, on behalf of the government of Pakistan, and Shahid Saleem Khan, managing director of the OGDCL.
The government executed the petroleum concession agreements at Elsover Block No 3372-26 (Hazro); Block No 2972-7 (Vehari); Block No 2972-8 (Sut-lej); Block No 2668-23 (Khewari East); and Block No 3471-1 (Nowshera).—TLTP
