The National Assembly was informed on Thursday that 66 discoveries of gas and six of oil have been made in the country during the tenure of the present government.
Parliamentary Secretary for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahzadi Umarzadi Tiwana told the House during question hour that 600 mmcfd gas and 2,700 barrels of oil per day have been added in the system during the period.
She said the indigenous production of oil has touched 100,000 barrels per day which is the highest in the history of the country.
She pointed out that the government has awarded 46 exploration licenses to different companies. At present 24 companies are holding exploration licenses for gas exploration in the country and are working on 164 blocks.
To a question, she said, the joint sitting of the Parliament has passed Gas Theft Control and Recovery Bill recently which will greatly help with the theft recovery. She said OGRA is taking action on adulteration cases in petroleum products and imposing fines according to the gravity of violations. She also urged the public to file complaints if they see any adulteration taking place at any petrol pumps.
She said action will be taken on the complaints. She said the country imported petroleum products worth $9.334 billion during 2015. The House also adopted a unanimous resolution calling upon the government to take immediate steps to conduct Population Census in the country. It was moved by Dr Nafisa Shah.
Speaking on the resolution, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Shaikh Aftab Ahmad said the government has the intention to hold population and housing census as soon as possible. The House passed yet another resolution calling upon the government to take steps to establish separate counters for women in all Passport and NADRA offices. It was moved by Naeema Kishwar Khan.
Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Maryam Aurangzeb informed the House that the government is already working on the issue. She said separate counters of women in all the 561 NADRA centres will be set up in the first phase and separate women NADRA centres will be established in the second phase.
