ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has awarded 70 Supplemental Agreements (SAs) for conversion to Petroleum Concessions Agreements (PCAs), aimed at expediting oil and gas exploration activities in potential areas of the country.
“As many as 70 SAs covering 94 leases have been executed, while remaining applications are also being reviewed and finalized on a fast track basis,” official sources in the ministry told APP.
They said the successive petroleum policies 2001, 2007 and 2009 provided option to the existing license/lease holders for conversion of SAs to PCAs. “But the absence of a signed SA resulted in mistrust of investors in government policies, putting an adverse impact on investment for exploration of oil and gas in the country,” they said.
They said Petroleum Exploration and Production Policy-2012, as amended in July 2013, also provided an incentive to existing licence/lease holders for the conversion. They said the agreements had been finalized in consultation with all stakeholders including from the Petroleum Sector as well as ministries of Finance and Law and Justice.
