Pakistani delegation meets Chinese, others energy giants’

Gwadar Pro

Karachi: A delegation of the Pakistani ministry of petroleum has met energy giants from China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE at the ongoing ADIPEC energy industry event in Abu Dhabi to capitalize on “opportunities and cooperation avenues” to boost Pakistan’s power sector.

Pakistan in June set up a Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to fast-track decision making and promote investment from foreign nations, particularly Gulf countries.

The council has identified five sectors as priority, namely energy, agriculture, mining, information technology and defense production, as Pakistan deals with a balance of payments crisis and requires billions of dollars in foreign exchange to finance its trade deficit and repay its international debts in the current financial year.

“Minister Muhammad Ali is engaging with energy giants of the world to capitalize the opportunities and cooperation avenues to boost Pakistan’s energy sector,” the Pakistani ministry said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon about the petroleum minister’s engagements at ADIPEC, one of the world’s largest energy events, with 2,200 companies, including ten from Pakistan, participating this year and 30 country pavilions showcasing energy strategies.

Ali held a meeting with a delegation from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company or ADNOC, the state-owned oil company of the UAE and the world’s 12th largest oil company by production.

“Matters pertaining to LNG and crude supply came under discussion,” a statement from the Pakistani side said.

On Monday, the Pakistani delegation held a meeting with a delegation of ARAMCO headed by the head of ARAMCO Asia.”

“Areas of mutual cooperation including exploration, oil and gas wells digitalization came under discussion,” the Pakistani power ministry said.

In a historic collaboration, Pakistan announced in July that four government-backed oil and gas companies were joining forces with oil giant Saudi Aramco for a US $10 billion Greenfield refinery project.

Through a “joint investment strategy,” the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL) would work with Aramco, Pakistan had announced. The project will be built on the strategic Gwadar Port in the country’s southwestern Balochistan province.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia inked a deal to establish an oil refinery in Gwadar, a key route of the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s visit to Islamabad in 2019.

In a separate meeting at ADIPEC, the Pakistani minister for petroleum met the vice president of China National Petroleum Corporation on Monday and “discussed issues of mutual interest and areas of future cooperation between two countries.”