ISLAMABAD: Following a number of complaints regarding theft of crude oil, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has written to the chief ministers of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to conduct investigations into theft complaints that not only depriving the exchequer of huge losses but also causing environmental hazards.
The ministry has asked the Sindh and KPK governments to probe the theft of crude oil which is not only extremely dangerous but environmentally hazardous.
The ministry took the decision on the complaints of United Energy Pakistan (UEP), a Hong Kong-based exploration and production company operating here. The company said the working of its staff at Mirpurkhas and Khipro blocks was becoming increasingly difficult.
It is to be noted that Pakistan’s oil production hit its highest level of 100,600 barrels per day (bpd) on Dec 7 this year, up from about 80,000 bpd last year as output from various fields has improved and new wells have come into production.
The petroleum ministry had also taken up the issue of crude oil/condensate theft with the KP government after two separate cases were reported this month to the federal government and taken up by the provincial assembly, he said.
