The Pakistan government on Monday allowed a conglomerate of the country’s leading public sector petroleum exploration and development (E&P) companies to go for a $400 million exploration attempt in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
According to an official statement issued by the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet, a consortium of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), and Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL), has been allowed to go for Abu Dhabi exploration.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the ECC presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin.
The Cabinet committee approved a summary of the “Petroleum Division regarding no objection certificate for issuance of the parent company guarantees/corporate guarantees by each of the consortium companies, on a joint and several basis, in favour of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and the Supreme Council for the Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA) to pursue international exploration and production opportunity in Abu Dhabi, UAE,” the statement read.
The four companies in June decided to incorporate a special purpose vehicle (SPV) called “NewCo” in Abu Dhabi Global Market and Pakistan. Each consortium partner has a 25% shareholding in the in the $400m company.
The consortium, in June, announced its plan to invest $400 million in the oil exploration sector of the United Arab Emirates by participating in a bidding process organized by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).
Following the approval from the ECC, the conglomerate can now issue guarantees to NewCo in favour of Adnoc and SCFEA to qualify for the exploration block. The consortium has already submitted a bid for exploration.
The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) had allowed the consortium to submit the bid in 2019, asking its members to make the initial investment through their own resources in keeping with the size of their shares.