LAHORE: The government has released funds amounting to Rs288.103 million during the first six months of the current fiscal year to execute petroleum projects under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP 2019-20), against the total allocation of Rs581.812 million.
According to official data, an amount of Rs4.220 million was provided to explore and evaluate coal in Nosham and Bahlol areas of Balochistan, for which Rs10.553 million were earmarked in PSDP.
Meanwhile, Rs54 million were released against the allocation of Rs70 million for expansion and up-gradation of Pakistan Petroleum Corehouse (PETCORE) to ensure its sustainable operations and facilitate oil and gas exploration research in the country.
Similarly, a sum of Rs60.252 million was released for a project to upgrade Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP)’s POL testing facilities at Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta and ISO Certification of Petroleum Testing Laboratory in Islamabad. This year, the government would spend Rs77.960 million for up-gradation of the HDIP labs.
An amount of Rs166.614 million was issued to acquire new drilling rigs and equipment against the allocation of Rs416.535, while Rs1.462 for appraisal of newly discovered coal resources in Badin Coal-field and its adjoining areas of southern Sindh, for which the government has earmarked Rs3.655 million in the PSDP.
Furthermore, an amount of Rs1,555 million was disbursed for exploration and evaluation of metallic minerals in Uthal and Bela areas of Lasbela District, Balochistan, for which the government would disburse Rs3.109 in the current fiscal year.
