ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Amanullah Khan Jadoon Thursday asked the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) to promote CNG plants and kits manufacturing technology aimed at saving foreign exchange of the country.

Presiding over the HDIP's Board meeting here, the minister said the government was according top priority to the promotion of the oil and gas sector to make country self-reliace.

He said that a plan has already been chalked out to double the oil and gas production in next five years to bridge the supply and demand gap.

The minister said it was the prime responsibility of the oil and gas research and development institutions to equip them with the modern and sophisticated technologies pre-requisite for the successful exploration and boosting the petroleum industry.

Mr Jadoon said that as a result of far-reaching steps taken by the government to deregulate the petroleum sector and providing attractive package of incentives to the investors, it witnessed an unprecedented growth during the last five years.

He said the government would provide more incentives and facilities in the oil and gas exploration to attract investment.

Mr Jadoon commended the HDIP's role in the development of petroleum sector on modern lines and promoting oil and gas exploration in the country.

He approved holding a workshop on origin and accumulation of oil and gas in the country in collaboration with exploration and production companies.

Earlier, director-general Hilal A.Raza briefed about the performance of the Institute, its ongoing and upcoming research and development activities.

He said the Institute in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) had set up a Core House in Islamabad catering to the needs and requirements of the exploration and production companies.

Mr Raza said the HDIP had been making all out efforts to help the oil and gas industry in their research and development activities.

The meeting besides reviewing the updated performance of the HDIP in research and development facilities also discussed administrative and financial matters and approved its annual budget for 2004-05.-APP