ISLAMABAD, Nov 22: An agreement between the government of Pakistan and Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) was signed here on Saturday for grant of petroleum exploration licence to carry out oil and gas exploration in district Attock with an initial investment of $1.5 million.

Under the agreement, POL will undertake exploration in Ikhlas Block covering an area of 550 square kilometres. The exploration programme comprises review of geological and geophysical data, acquisition processing and interpretation of seismic data.

The agreement also stipulates drilling of an exploratory well during the three-year term.

A subsidiary of Attock Oil Company, UK, the POL is a public limited company listed at all the three stock exchanges.

Currently, it operates nine D&P leases and three exploration licences. It has working interest in 22 areas, including its own operated and non-operated joint ventures as well as international joint venture participation.

The company’s daily production is about 10,753 barrels of oil, 44 mmcf of gas, 137 tons of LPG, 185 barrels of solvent oil and 10 tons of sulphur.

Ministry of petroleum and natural resources secretary M. Abdullah Yusuf and Petroleum Resources director general G.A. Sabri, on behalf of the government and POL chairman/chief executive Shuaib Anwar Malik, on behalf of his company, signed the agreement.