ISLAMABAD: Council of Common Interests (CCI)  on Wednesday approved the Petroleum Exploration and Production Policy 2012 in its meeting. The new policy will increase the wellhead gas price more than 100 per cent.

The meeting was presided over by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. It was attended by chief ministers of the four provinces, some federal ministers and other pertinent officials.

According to the new policy the wellhead gas price was increased more than 100 per cent.The new wellhead gas price was set at $6 to $9 per Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU), while previously it was on average $3.5 per MMBTU.

Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, who was attending the meeting after a very long time, talked about the problem of load-shedding in his province. He complained that Punjab was facing more load-shedding as compared to the other provinces.

PM Ashraf assured Sharif that no province would be discriminated and uniform load shedding would be ensured in all the provinces.