LAHORE, Nov 7: Initiatives taken by the government to de-regulate the oil sector will not only bring competition in the marketing of petroleum products but also ensure services of international standards to the Pakistanis.

Federal Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Chaudhry Nauraiz Shakoor said this while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the 50th outlet of the Attock Petroleum Company on Multan Road here on Friday.

The minister said the government was giving priority to accelerate the pace of oil and gas exploration and production activities in the country.

Frantic efforts, he said, were being made to exploit the untapped resources in the country to replace the imports of oil with the indigenous fuel.

For this purpose, he said the government was offering an attractive package of incentives to investors in the oil and gas exploration and production and assured that it would continue to facilitate the prospective investors to take advantage of the investor-friendly climate in Pakistan.

Mr Shakoor lauded the Attock Petroleum Company’s contribution towards the promotion of the oil and gas sector and hoped that it would further accelerate the pace of development activities to help promote socio-economic progress and prosperity in the country.

Attock Petroleum chief executive Shoaib Anwar Malik said that the Attock group of companies had invested billions of dollars in the oil and gas sector in Pakistan and assured that it would continue to play its due role in promoting this vital factor of the economy.