20000118

Govt forms

holding company

in exploration

sector

ISLAMABAD: The government after obtaining the approval from the Cabinet for formation of Government Holding Company has incorporated Government Holding (Pvt) Limited as private limited company, this was officially announced here on Monday.

The decision has been taken under the provision of Companies Ordinance, 1984, with a view to separating the functions of investment and development to accelerate the process of finding more oil and gas.

Currently, these functions are administered by the Government of Pakistan through Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources.

The Government Holding (Pvt) Limited would be responsible to manage all the government working interest in the present state holding as well as new exploration ventures. It will, however, not operate like OGDCL.

There will be no risk in the new ventures as under the new arrangements, the 58 percent government interest will be carried by the exploration and production companies include commercial discovery.

The government will reimburse the 58 percent exploration cost of the E&P companies related to a commercial discovery from its share of production in exploration over a five years period from the date of commercial discovery.

The Government Holding (Pvt) Limited will receive all the revenue from the present state holding and from future discoveries. The composition of the board of directors of the company would be chairman and technical directors.

The spokesman of the ministry said that the Petroleum Policy 1994 provides a provision for establishment of 100 percent government-owned holding company to assume all government working interest in operating joint ventures, government investment in the equity of public companies and all new petroleum concession and production sharing agreements in exploration and production sector, except those owned by the OGDCL.ÑAPP