ISLAMABAD, July 10: A Senate body was informed on Thursday that the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has chalked out an aggressive oil and gas exploration programme to meet the growing energy demands of the country.

OGDCL Chairman Arshad Nasir informed the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources that there would be a focus on replicating international best practices and innovative thinking.

He also gave a detailed overview of the contribution made by the OGDCL to the national exchequer and said that the company was able to contribute Rs82.87 billion in the year 2007-08 to the national kitty, which was higher than 2006-07.

The committee assured support to the OGDCL in removing hurdles in the way to expedite oil and gas exploration in the country, particularly in Balochistan.

The OGDCL chairman informed the committee about steps taken to improve the working and performance of the OGDCL and new discoveries of oil and gas made during last few years.

He said that all-out efforts were being made with a strong vision and passion to enhance the energy security of the country and go beyond geographical boundaries for exploration and production opportunities.

He said that agreements have been signed with international firms to further increase technical prowess in the on-shore exploration and production, as well as to a more challenging area of the offshore exploration.

He stated that OGDCL was contributing 42 per cent of the total production of gas from Balochistan.

He apprised the members of the committee of various reasons for halt in the exploration activities in Balochistan and said that due to non-clearance of security from the government of Balochistan, new activities could not be launched.

The senate body, which met at the OGDCL Head Office under the chairmanship of Senator Syed Dilawar Abbas, underlined the need for intensifying efforts to explore new reserves of oil and gas to meet the growing demand and to bridge the supply and demand gap to protect the common man from the impact of unprecedented hike in the prices of petroleum products.

It was pointed out that oil prices have far greater consequences for developing countries, like Pakistan, than the developed ones.

Members of the committee were of the view that there was a dire need of intensifying search for new reserves as the previous ones have been depleting at a fast pace.

They recommended that the OGDCL should also go for off-shore ventures as there was a huge potential in this area to meet the future demands of the country.

The committee noted that Balochistan has great potential for oil and gas reserves and called for making the environment conducive to carry out exploration activities in an appropriate manner and suggested that parliamentarians and tribal elders should play their due role in facilitating the OGDCL in exploration activities.

It also constituted a sub-committee which will comprise senators from Balochistan with a view to remove bottle-necks in the way and address security concerns.

The committee called for striving to enhance the reserves by working on both off-shore and on-shore exploration activities.

The committee observed that the recruitment quota reserved for Balochistan be implemented strictly and trainees be selected from the area from where discoveries are made.

The meeting was attended by Senators Shahid Hassan Bugti, Mir Mohabat Khan Marri, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi and Mrs Rukhsana Zuberi. Senior officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources and OGDCL were also present.