LONDON April 26: Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Amanullah Khan Jadoon on Tuesday urged British businessmen to exploit the untapped potential of 27 billion barrels of oil and 280 trillion cubic feet of gas in Pakistan to reap attractive dividends of their investment.

He was inaugurating a two-day conference on “New Opportunities in Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Sector” organized by the ministry of petroleum and natural resources here to attract investment in the sector.

British investors were offered 20 new blocks for carrying out onshore and offshore exploration and were assured that the government would facilitate them and help start joint ventures if they so decided.

Of these blocks, 16 were offshore and four were onshore that included Eastern Offshore Indus A, B, C in Zone Zero, Offshore Indus 0, Offshore Indus P, Offshore Indus Q in Zero Zone, Badin South IV and Badin IV North, Khetwaro, Kirthar South 1, Kirthar South 11 and Thatta East in Zone Three, Latambar, Marwat in Zone One, Bagh South in Zone Two, Bagho-o-Bahar, Pakhiwali and Islamgarh in Zone Three, Khiranwala in Zone Two and Daphro in Zone Three.

However, he said the country would give preference to indigenous gas to meet its energy needs and gas would be imported only to bridge the gap between its availability and requirements of its growing economy.

Petroleum and Natural Resources Secretary Ahmed Waqar said 80 per of the country’s energy needs were being met through oil and gas.

Mr Waqar said the country’s oil import bill during the current year was estimated to be $4.5 billion mainly because of the soaring oil prices in the international market while it was $3.1 billion last year.—APP

GAS PIPELINES: Pakistan and its neighbours will be able to decide by 2006 which of three competing trans-national gas pipelines should go ahead first.

“Roughly within a year, maybe in the beginning of next year, we should be able to decide which pipeline is feasible,” Ahmad Waqar told Reuters on the sidelines of the conference.

“We expect these pipelines to be laid by the time we are faced with shortages around 2010-2011,” Mr Waqar said, adding that by that time Pakistan’s energy demand/supply gap could be as wide as 20 million tons of oil equivalent a year.

He said that in the fourth quarter of this year Pakistan would also decide on LNG imports, with Qatar emerging like the most likely source.