March 29, 2006	Wednesday	Safar 28, 1427

ISLAMABAD, March 28: Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Amanullah Khan Jadoon on Tuesday said that Pakistan’s policy in the energy sector provided better incentives and the exploration activities were expected to move correspondingly onward.

“The attractive incentives are being offered to attract foreign direct investment in the petroleum sector with the result that more than $1 billion have been invested by the major oil companies in the past few years while gas production has also increased to one billion cubic feet,” the minister said.

Addressing a two-day Caspian and Black Sea Oil and Gas Summit in Ankara, he said Pakistan offered a lot of opportunities in upstream and downstream oil and gas projects, coastal refinery, cross-border gas pipeline and exploration in onshore and offshore areas.

The conference is being organized by the Turkish Ministry of Oil and attended by the delegates from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, India, Kazakhstan, Azerbijan, Afghanistan, Georgia and Ukraine.

The minister said that Pakistan was becoming an energy hub in the region due to its strategic location and would serve as a corridor for the international supply routes of energy to the land-locked Central Asian States for transporting their oil and gas to the world market.

Pakistan, he said, had taken some bold steps during the last one year which would bring about a major shift in the approach of regional countries to address the issue of energy supply on a mutually assured benefit basis.

He invited the participants to visit Pakistan and see the immense opportunities available in the energy sector, adding, “Our government and oil and gas companies will fully facilitate investment and joint ventures.”

The minister said that sustainable supply of energy played a crucial role in the economic development of any country while developed countries had been able to ensure safety, security and sustainability of energy supplies.

“Developing countries must ensure on affordable and sustainable supply of energy,” he added.

He said that Pakistan’s exploration and production companies were resource deficient and needed major input of finances or collaboration with some of the major players in petroleum sector.

He said disciplined economic management of the country had played an extremely positive role and powered the economy at a healthy rate of 8.4 per cent GDP growth in 2004-05.—APP