KARACHI: Petroleum Division Minister Jam Kamal Khan has said the country has significant consumption of energy, with its GDP growth anticipated at 6.5 per cent in the coming year. This developing scenario, he said, is opening up opportunities for new investors.
The minister of state was speaking at a ministerial session of ADIPEC 2017, one of the world’s biggest oil and gas exhibition-cum-conference being held in Abu Dhabi. The session, held on day 2 of the mega event was entitled ‘Ministerial Panel, Creating Energy Opportunity through Foresight, Vision, Inspiration and Innovation’ and featured energy ministers from UAE, Oman and Egypt, besides Pakistan. The session was moderated by CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble.
The minister said that Pakistan has already built a robust infrastructure which includes the first LNG Terminal that was completed in a record time of 335 days in Karachi and through which re-gasified LNG is transmitted to local industries that require it most. He said that the second terminal will soon start operating and more such terminals will be installed in the future too. Still, he said, a lot needs to be done since the entire energy sector has not been covered and gas and power requirements still need to be fulfilled. While emphasising that Pakistan still has an appetite to consume more energy, he said that the country needs to improve its upstream resources. The minister added that in the field of Exploration and Production (E&P), there is a lot of room for companies to come in and work and we are looking to increase our capacity in refining.
Jam Kamal Khan sounded upbeat about Pakistan’s oil and gas sector and said that the country was looking for partnerships and stressed that there are “opportunities in E&P, refining and LNG”. The minister used Pakistan’s relationship with ADNEC and its “brothers in the UAE” as examples of existing strong partnerships. He also talked about the importance of working with Egypt and Oman, emphasising on the value of Pakistan’s potential LNG partnership with Oman.
It must be mentioned here that Pakistan has a strong presence at the ADIPEC 2017. The Petroleum Institute of Pakistan has taken the lead in setting up a Pakistan Pavilion in the Exhibition Area that features the veritable who’s who of Pakistan oil and gas sector including Pakistan State Oil, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Sui Southern Gas Company, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, Mari Petroleum Company Limited, Inter State Gas Systems (Pvt) Ltd, Government Holdings (Pvt) Limited, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Development Company and Pakistan LNG Terminals Limited.
The elite panel at the Ministerial Session also included Sohail Mohammad Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry, UAE, Mohammed Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil and Gas, Sultanate of Oman and Tarek El Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Arab Republic of Egypt.
UAE energy minister said that Pakistan’s refining industry has a huge potential for growth and expansion and UAE is all set to invest more in that sector. The minister added that renewable energy too has a huge growth potential in Pakistan. Oman oil and gas minister focused on the importance of gas for energy security and urged players to “lean towards LNG”. Unlocking tight gas in Oman could prove to be a game-changer for the country but he admitted there are challenges in the form of production and costs, he said. Egypt’s petroleum and mineral resources minister sounded optimistic about Egypt becoming increasingly attractive to investors now that it was emerging out of the political turmoil that had a negative impact on investment.
