E&P companies deposit over Rs 3.1b for welfare schemes in Sindh

ISLAMABAD (APP): The Exploration and Production (E&P) companies operating in Sindh province have deposited Rs 3,108.309 million in bank accounts of different oil and gas producing districts during the last five years to carry out welfare schemes, under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

“The companies have collectively deposited Rs3108.309 million in joint bank accounts of DCOs/DCs of different districts of Sindh Province to execute development projects in the surrounding localities of their operational fields for the welfare of local communities on a regular basis,” according to an official document available with APP.

In line with the Petroleum Concession Agreements (PCAs)/Social Welfare Guidelines issued by the Petroleum Division, the E&P companies are obligated to deposit a certain amount in the joint accounts of the concerned District Coordinator Officers (DCOs) and Deputy Commissioners (DCs).

The social welfare projects related to health, education, clean drinking water, and road infrastructure are executed under the supervision of district-level committees, having adequate representation of local parliamentarians.

The E&P companies, operating in different parts of the country, have collectively discovered 16 oil and gas reservoirs during the last fiscal year in pursuit of making the country self-reliant in the energy sector.

Out of these, ten discoveries were made in the oil and gas fields of Sindh, four in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each in Balochistan and Punjab.

Initially, the companies started extracting oil and gas from seven newly discovered wells of Sindh province including Taj-1, located in Tando Allahyar district, Turk South-1 & Mulaki West-1 and Bhatti North-1 in Badin district, Fazil-1 in Ghotki district, Mohar in Khairpur district and Naimat West DT-1 in Sanghar district. Currently, their accumulative oil and gas production stood at 1258.98 barrels per day and 10.91 million cubic feet per day respectively.