According to Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar, Pakistan is opening new areas for oil and gas development through competitive bidding, which will spur significant exploration activity in the country.
“Pakistan has huge oil and gas reserves,” he said during a meeting with the Japanese envoy, “and releasing new blocks will not only improve local oil and gas production but will also help save a lot of foreign cash now required for its imports.”
Ambassador of Japan Kuninori Matsuda spoke on the event, praising the government’s energy plans and inviting the minister to the Asia Green Partnership Ministerial Meeting (AGPM), which will be held in Japan in October 2021.
The funds will go toward decarbonisation projects throughout Asia, such as renewable energy, energy conservation, and the conversion of coal-fired power plants to gas-fired power plants to aid in the energy transition.
Azhar accepted the invitation to join in AGPM and stated that multinational corporations, including Japanese ones, must compete for oil and gas exploration areas in competitive bidding.
The minister also informed the Japanese ambassador of the current government’s successful efforts to reduce circular debt growth from Rs538 billion in FY20 to Rs177 billion in FY21, which has tremendously contributed to investor confidence being restored.
