Govt to Finalize 8 Oil & Gas Exploration Permits By Next Week

The federal government will complete the process of granting Petroleum Exploration Licenses for eight relinquished Oil & Gas blocks in Balochistan next week, it is learnt reliably here. The blocks had been previously granted to various Petroleum Exploration Companies but after court litigation, it was relinquished and the Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions of Petroleum Division (Ministry of Energy) floated fresh tenders for the eight blocks, an official source told Propakistani. The Federal Government has invited bids for granting eight Petroleum Exploration licenses in Balochistan which included blocks 2763-6 Ladgasht, 3066-7 Huramzai, 3067-9 Changai, 3067-8 Lugai, 3167-3 Tanishpa, 3168-2 Shaigalu, 3068-8 South Pishin, and 3168-3 Multanai. Bidding for the eight blocks will be held on October 20, 2022. During the previous round of bids for exploration licenses, the participation from international companies was negligible, the source said. Even this time international and small companies are reluctant to participate in the bidding process owing to the unprofessional behavior of the DGPC, the source added. As per PPRA rules, first, there should be a technical evaluation of the bidding followed by the financial evaluation, but DGPC is doing the opposite, the source said.