Right Time To Invest In Pakistan's Energy Sector: Jam Kamal

The Minister of State for Petroleum Division, Jam Kamal Khan, has said that the country's energy sector offers excellent opportunities for foreign investors owing to a number of positive developments that have taken place of late on that front

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Nov, 2017 ) :The Minister of State for Petroleum Division, Jam Kamal Khan, has said that the country's energy sector offers excellent opportunities for foreign investors owing to a number of positive developments that have taken place of late on that front.

He 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 from November 13 to 16. A statement issued here on Wednesday by the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) said that the session 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 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.

The session was moderated by the CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble. The Minister stressed that Pakistan has significant consumption of energy, with the country's GDP growth anticipated at 6.5% in the coming year.

This developing scenario, he said, is opening up new opportunities for foreign investors. He emphasized that the country needs to improve its upstream resources and noted that especially in the field of Exploration and Production (E&P), there is a lot of room for foreign companies to come in and do work and Pakistan is looking to increase its refining capacity.

Khan further stated 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 and a 342-km dedicated RLNG transmission pipeline from Port Qasim, Karachi 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 added, 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.

The Minister said that Pakistan is focusing on building enduring partnerships to avail opportunities in E&P, refining and LNG sectors. He also talked about the importance of working with Egypt and Oman, emphasizing on the value of Pakistan's potential LNG partnership with Oman.

In his remarks during the session, 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.

The statement mentioned 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.