Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Friday called for increasing oil exploration activities in the country and encouraging use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and Compressed natural gas (CNG) in vehicles in the wake of growing energy needs and rising international oil prices.
He was talking to a representative group of oil companies, which called on him at the Prime Minister House to discus future plans in view of the growing demand for oil in the country.
The Prime Minister said that the government believed in deregulation, but added that it did not imply that it would abdicate its role.
The Prime Minister underlined Pakistan''s strategic location at the mouth of the Gulf which is ideally placed for a world class mega refinery both for meeting domestic needs and exports.
He said that the Government was working to improve the logistics chain and construction of north-south corridor of motorway standard.
The oil companies'' representatives apprised the Prime Minister of their expansion plans and appreciated the policies of level playing field as well as consistency in the policies of the government. The Prime Minister welcomed the investment plans of the oil companies and said that this would reduce costs of doing business, create more job opportunities, and improve productivity and competitiveness. Mukhtar Ahmad, Advisor to Prime Minister on Energy, and senior officials of the government were also present on the occasion.