PESHAWAR: The provincial government has announced to provide gas to the people through cylinders in the backward villages of gas producing districts. The plan will be launched after a thorough study by keeping in view requirement of the people of such areas.

The government also decided to formally inaugurate the oil refinery in Karak and directed to convene a meeting of authorities concerned to finalise all arrangements in this regard.

According to a statement issued here on Saturday, these decisions were taken in a meeting held at the CM Secretariat with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair.

The chief minister pledged all-out support to address the issues of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Limited (KPOGCL), saying it was encouraging that the company was now working on professional lines to achieve its targets for exploring oil and gas in the province.

He said that the rich potential of oil and gas could be utilised for the prosperity of the province. “We will provide an ideal environment and facilities to the investors for this purpose,” he added.

Information minister Shaukat Yousafzai, advisor to CM on energy Hamayatullah Khan, secretary energy, representatives of KPOGCL and officials of other relevant departments attended the meeting.

The statement said that the meeting was briefed about the establishment of KPOGCL, its ongoing activities and plan for future. It was stated that the KPOGCL had been established as holding company of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2014. The company has been realigned and its board reconstituted following initiatives of the PTI’s provincial government. It said that now it was working to explore and utilise the advantages of province in the oil and gas sector. The meeting agreed to attract investors and technology to this sector.

The meeting was told that Lakki block, which included Bannu, Lakki Marwat and DI Khan, was awarded in Sept 2018. It was stated that exploration licence had been issued and the operator of this project was KP OGCL.

It was said that the expected net profit from this project was about Rs30 billion. Geological mapping and scouting has been done and seismic tender already floated. The statement said that the company wanted expansion in this block for which cooperation of the provincial government was required. On this, the chief minister said that the provincial government would provide every possible support to the company to resolve its issues.

It was also revealed that there were at least six blocks in the newly-merged tribal districts for which homework was in progress. The meeting also proposed a model to provide gas through cylinders in the backward villages of gas producing districts. This model could be launched and implemented on the desire and approval of the provincial government.

The chief minister agreed on this occasion to formally inaugurate the oil refinery in Karak and directed for finalising all arrangements in this regard. He also asked about progress to utilise the available gas for providing cheap and uninterrupted electricity in economic zones of Hattar, Rashakai and DI Khan and directed for progress review meeting in this regard.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2019