ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: The government on Thursday granted an exploration licence to Government Holdings (Pvt) Limited (GHPL) and reached a petroleum production sharing agreement with GHPL and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) over Eastern Offshore Indus covering an area of 2,494 sq-km.

This block is located in the Arabian Sea and situated approximately 150km off the coast of Karachi. PPL will invest an amount of $7.7 million during the first three years of the initial term of licence.

According to a press release, the execution of the new production sharing agreement formed an integral part of the government drive to attract investment into the oil and gas sector and boost Pakistan’s economy by substituting imported oil with indigenous oil and gas production.

To meet this objective, the unexplored offshore region is being given special emphasis where an oil and gas discovery can provide a major impetus for attracting new investments significantly affecting exploration landscape of Pakistan.

PPL has been involved in petroleum exploration and production in Pakistan for over half a century and has made several oil and gas discoveries, including Sui field. It has the geological and geophysical knowledge, data and experience in exploration and field development.

The company is the producer of gas from Sui, Mazarani, Kandhkot and Adhi fields. It is operator in eight EL and seven development and production (D&P) leases, besides it has working interest in eight EL and six D&P leases. At present PPL has production of around 770 million cubic feet of gas, 3,870 barrels of oil and 70 tons of LPG per day.

The execution ceremony was witnessed by Amanullah Khan Jadoon, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, and Mir Muhammad Naseer Mengal, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources.

The exploration licence and the petroleum sharing agreement were signed by Ahmed Waqar, Secretary, Petroleum and Natural Resources, Mohammad Naeem Malik, director general, Petroleum Concessions, Agha Sher Hamid Zaman, director, GHPL, and Syed Munsif Raza, managing director, PPL.