ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan met Ambassador of United Arab Emirates in Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi.
In the meeting, both discussed the on-going cooperation in the petroleum sector and explored the priority areas of mutual interest in the energy sector of Pakistan.
The Minister congratulated and lauded the Emirates for country’s space mission to Mars “Amal or Hope” and its successful entry into Mars’ orbit.
The envoy thanked and extended his gratitude for the Minister’s pleasant notion. He also expressed his interest to further investment in the energy sector of Pakistan. He said that the collaboration in the energy sector would provide an impetus to economic ties between brotherly countries.
Separately, the Minister also met Ambassador of the Republic of Czech in Pakistan Tomas Smetanka. The Minister had a comprehensive discussion on the outlook of the energy sector and energy market here in Pakistan.
The Czech Ambassador explored the areas of mutual discussion in the energy sector including investment in the oil sector and business in LNG supply chain for a group of Czech companies visiting Pakistan by end of March 2021.
The Minister highlighted the government’s robust policies to revamp the petroleum and power sector of the country. He said that the government is fully committed to diversifying the outlook of the energy market while making it more competitive and efficient. The Minister briefed about the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2030 which emphasised increasing the share of indigenous sources on basis of amount, time and location while reducing the reliance on imported fuel. He further highlighted that IGCEP would forge additional renewable capacity i.e 60% power generation from biomass, solar & wind; 30% from hydel, 10% each from thermal and nuclear power plants.
Omar Ayub also dilated upon the Exploration and Production activities in Pakistan and said that recently the government has carried out the bidding of 15 oil & gas blocks and minimum investment in these Blocks would be over USD 71 million in three years, additionally, the development programs worth of hundred million dollars would be extended by E&P companies in located areas. He said that the government would be offering more new oil & gas blocks by end of this year and it is a part of the strategy of the incumbent government to revive E&P activities in the country which had been ignored by previous governments. He further said that the Government also aimed at self-sufficiency in oil & gas and harnessing maximum potential of energy resources in-country by introducing ease-of-doing-business and transparency to ensure a level-playing field for all competitors in the energy sector.
The Ambassador voiced a hope that the Czech companies would have valuable input from Pakistani counterparts and would find the best opportunities for investments and business in the energy sector of Pakistan. He said it would strengthen the bilateral economic relations between the two countries.
