Petronas gets NOC to exit Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – The Malaysian exploration and production company, Petronas, has been granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the government to exit Pakistan. An informed source said that the government had finally accepted the request of the Malaysian company and had granted the NOC for its exit.
Petronas had sought NOC from the Ministry of Petroleum, after signing a sale and purchase agreement with the Austrian company OMV, selling its entire oil and gas exploration and production assets in Pakistan. Malaysian Petronas is the second major exploration and production company which has departed from Pakistan recently. The British Petroleum (BP) also made an exit last year by selling all its assets in the country to cover up the huge losses resulting from oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The sale purchase agreement encompasses the Mubarak, Mehar and Daphro exploration licenses and the Mehar and Mubarak development and production leases. The company had made a total investment of $230 million since 1995. Its total production is estimated at about 20 MMSCF of gas and 100 barrels of condensate per day. OMV expects the deal to further strengthen its position as the biggest foreign gas producer in Pakistan. OMV has been involved in exploration activities in Pakistan since 1990.
OMV made a gas discovery at the Miano gas field Sukkur followed by another significantly find in the case of the larger Sawan gas in Khairpur districts. These two gas fields contribute significantly to Pakistan’s gas requirements.