• Establishes Wheat Stock Management Company to replace Passco
• Turkish petroleum firm gets operatorship in offshore exploration block
• Deal expected to bring foreign investment, offshore technical expertise
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Tuesday approved about Rs51 billion in supplementary grants for security and defence needs, mostly for areas bordering Balochistan, and allowed the farming out of an offshore exploration block to a Turkish state-owned firm.
The ECC meeting, presided over by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, also formally approved the creation of a new special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to handle wheat stock financing in place of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco), which the government has ordered to be wound up.
An official statement said the committee “approved a summary from the Defence Division, granting a TSG (technical supplementary grant) of Rs50bn for a range of approved projects of the Defence Services”.
Sources said a major chunk of the funds would go towards beefing up border security and surveillance, mostly along the Pakistan-Iran border and partly along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier.
The ECC also approved two more grants worth about Rs941 million on the request of the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control. The first grant of Rs100.3m will be used for the maintenance and repair of defence equipment utilised by the federal civil armed forces, while the second grant of Rs841.56m will support border control operations, internal security, and the maintenance of law and order by the same forces.
The committee also approved a request from Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL), a state-owned entity, to farm out 25 per cent of its stake in the Eastern Offshore Block-C to Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company (TPOC).
PPL had secured the exploration block in 2019 with 100pc shareholding and, on the federal government’s insistence, agreed to bring in TPOC and other local state-owned enterprises — Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL) and Mari Energies — for drilling of wells. The participating firms signed the relevant agreements last month.
The ECC formally allowed PPL’s assignment of participating interests in the Eastern Offshore Block C. Under the approved arrangement, PPL will retain a 35pc majority share, while the 25pc participating interest, along with operatorship, has been transferred to TPOC.
Mari Energies and OGDCL will each hold 20pc. The arrangement also involves the extension of licence periods and the assignment of working interests for offshore oil and gas exploration blocks.
Other terms of engagement and incentives remain under wraps. Petroleum Division spokesperson Zafar Abbas did not respond to requests for comment. A statement, however, said the deal would bring “valuable international offshore operating experience” to Pakistan’s exploration landscape and would be expected to enhance technical capabilities, operational efficiency and overall project delivery.
“The block contains a drill-ready prospect, which will now be pursued by this consortium under the operator-ship of TPOC,” the Petroleum Division said, adding that the upcoming exploration well was expected to attract substantial foreign direct investment into Pakistan’s offshore sector. TPOC has separately taken stakes in two other offshore exploration blocks with Mari Energies, awarded by the government last week.
The ECC also approved the creation of a new SPV — the Wheat Stock Management Company (WSMC) — which it had rejected in its meeting last week, to replace Passco in line with the government’s decision to wind up the corporation.
“The committee approved the formation of the SPV, allowing an initial paid-up capital of Rs1,000,000 and reducing the authorised capital in line with requirements for the structured winding down of the organisation,” an official statement said.
The Ministry of National Food Security had originally proposed WSMC with an authorised capital of Rs150bn, but the ECC significantly scaled this down, an official said, without elaborating. The SPV is expected to arrange long-term financing from commercial banks, backed by sovereign guarantees, to settle Passco’s liabilities, after which the corporation will stand dissolved.
Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2025
