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Niko to invest $32m in oil exploration

ISLAMABAD: To boost Pakistan’s economy by substituting imported oil and gas with indigenous supplies, a Canadian Company, Niko Resources Limited will invest $32 million for oil and gas exploration over four blocks located in the Arabian Sea. The Company also plans to invest more than $200 million subject to availability of viable structures after conducting seismic survey. According to details, the government has already granted Petroleum Exploration Licenses with Government Holdings (Pvt) Limited (GHPL) and Production Sharing Agreements with GHPL and Niko Resources Limited (Niko) over four blocks namely (1) Offshore Indus North (No. 2466-7) covering an area of 2466.24 square kilometers, (2) Offshore Indus X (No.2465-3) covering an area of 2482.83 square kilometers, (3) Offshore Indus Y (No. 2465-4) covering an area of 2482.33 square kilometers and (4) Offshore Indus Z (No.2466-6) covering an area of 2489.49 square kilometers located in the Arabian Sea. The execution of the new production sharing agreements forms an integral part of the government’s drive to attract investment in the oil and gas sector and boost Pakistan’s economy by substituting imported oil and gas with indigenous supplies. To meet this objective, the unexplored offshore region is being given special emphasis where an oil and gas discovery can provide a major impetus for attracting new investments significantly affecting exploration landscape of Pakistan. The government is making all out efforts to enhance oil and gas exploration activities through investment friendly policies. Therefore, in order to provide further incentives, Petroleum (exploration and production) Policy 2007 has recently been promulgated which is rated as one of the best policies in the region. Niko has considerable success in the Sub-Continent being the joint venture partner in a big discovery made in India during 2002 which is expected to commence production of around 2 billion cubic feet gas per day in 2008. The company has multiple exploration discoveries and production in India and Bangladesh. staff report

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