Islamabad : In a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company said on Tuesday that it will continue to be a strategic partner to the Pakistan in oil and gas sector.
KUFPEC said that its subsidiaries, KUFPEC Pakistan Holdings BV, KUFPEC Pakistan BV, and Kirthar Pakistan BV, have successfully divested their “non-operated assets” in Pakistan.
“The divestment was made in favour of Petroleum Exploration (Pvt) Limited, a leading private-sector exploration and production company in Pakistan with a significant local and international presence”, the statement said.
KUFPEC emphasized that despite this divestment, it continues to be a strategic partner to the Pakistani government in oil and gas exploration and production, reaffirming its ongoing role as the operator of the Makhad Block in Pakistan.
KUFPEC further noted that it is working to diversify and expand its operations in Pakistan, adding that in collaboration with the Directorate General Petroleum Concessions and major exploration and production companies, it is preparing for the upcoming offshore bidding round.
Meanwhile , Pakistani authorities have also denied that KUFPEC is existing from Pakistan . Energy minister , Musadik Malik on Tuesday denied categorically that KUFPEC is closing down its operations in Pakistan ‘s oil and gas sector due to stuck up of their payments as Pakistan ‘s circular debt of oil and gas sector is on the rise.
Musadik Malik in his talk to local media added that KUFPEC has off-loaded its 17 % non-operational stakes in Pakistan.
In the recent past , KUFPEC had struck a deal with Pakistan Exploration Limited (PEL) , Pakistan’s leading oil and gas exploration company, to sell-off its non-operational assets reportedly of worth $ 60 million .
A local media outlet reported the deal between KUFPEC and PEL and claimed in the story that the deal is a part of KUFPEC plan to windup its operations in Pakistan ‘s oil and gas sector and quit this country .
The story also gave an impression that KUFPEC was leaving Pakistan die to non-payments of its dues as Pakistan’s circular debt of petroleum sector was on the rise.
