Centre may revise royalty of oil, gas deposits of Balochistan govt

ISLAMABAD – The federal government is considering to revise the royalty of oil and gas deposits of Balochistan government, which is badly hit by the recent monsoon flooding, sources said.

The new royalty will be based on last Petroleum Exploration and Production Policy, 2012, which will help achieve maximum self-sufficiency in energy and promote exploration and production activities by providing competitive incentives to the investors.

The sources said that around 40 per cent of the Sui Gas Field’s profit will be shared with Balochistan.

Furthermore, in this regard, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and the Balochistan government will ink the agreement. According to details, after the proposal being accepted, the province will receive approximately six billion per annum as revenue generated from Sui gas.

In July 2015, former Balochistan chief minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch had imposed a ban on new projects of oil and gas exploration in the entire province in order to press the federal government for the devolution of petroleum and natural resources in accordance with the 18th Amendment of the Constitution.

In 2017, the Balochistan’s former chief minister Nawab Sanaullah Khan Zehri approved agreement to give Sui Gas Field to PPL on lease for next 10 years period.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022