Pakistan Petroleum Limited

Corporate Profile: Inheriting all assets and liabilities from its parent entity Burmah Oil Company of UK, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) began business on July 1, 1952. In September 1997, Burmah Oil Company decided to disinvest and sold its stake in PPL to the Government of Pakistan. Later, the government reduced its asset holding through an Initial Public Offer in July 2004.
Currently, company equity is divided between the government, which holds approximately 69 percent, and private investors, who have the remaining 31 percent.
Exploration and Production: The pioneer of the natural gas industry in the country, PPL has been a key player in the energy sector since the 1950s. As a major supplier of natural gas, PPL today contributes some 25 percent of the country's total natural gas supplies and also produces crude oil/Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
The company operates five producing fields across the country comprising Sui, Pakistan's largest gas field, Kandkhot, Adhi, Mazarani and Chachar. Production from these fields is supplied to Sui Southern Gas Company Limited, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and Water and Power Development Authority.
Besides, the company has working interest in seven partner-operated producing fields. Among the major ones are Qadirpur, the second largest gas field after Sui, Miano, Sawan, Block 22 (Hasan, Sadiq and Khanpur) and Tal Block (Manzalai).
As a major stakeholder in securing a safe energy future for the country, PPL pursues a dynamic exploration programme aimed at optimising production and reserve replenishment. As such, PPL's exploration activities are in high gear to support existing producing fields and add new ones to its portfolio.
In Pakistan, the company's exploration portfolio comprises 22 exploration blocks. Of these, PPL operates seven through joint venture agreements with other Exploration and Production (E&P) companies and has working interest in 15 more exploration areas, including three offshore blocks, as non-operating partner. PPL recently expanded its portfolio by acquiring 14 additional exploration blocks, with a possibility of adding some more in near future.
PPL is among the first local E&P companies to extend its operations beyond the national borders. A Production Sharing Agreement between PPL and OMV as operator was signed in April 2008 for Block 29 in Yemen and subsequently ratified by Yemen's parliament and approved by the President of Yemen in March 2009. Other international opportunities in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia are also under proactive review.
On June 30, 2009, PPL's proven recoverable reserves stood over 3.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, 23 million barrels of crude oil /NGL and 301 thousand metric tonnes of LPG. The company's net sales revenue for the financial year ending June 30, 2009, stood at Rs 61.6 billion with profit after tax amounting to Rs 27.7 billion.
The company's consistent track record of value creation for stakeholders in an environment-friendly and socially responsible manner led PPL to be recognised as one of the most dynamic and forward-looking corporate organisations in the country that is ideally poised for sustainable growth.
Corporate Governance: Over the years, PPL has developed a reliable foundation and infrastructure for providing clean, safe energy through sustainable exploitation of indigenous resources while adhering to the highest standards of health and safety and constraining the ecological footprint of its operations to conserve environmental integrity.
Mazarani, Kandhkot and Adhi fields, Sui Production, Sui Field Gas Compressor Station, Sui Purification and Sui Engineering as well as the Monitoring and Inspection and Design and Construction departments are certified for ISO 9001: 2000 Quality Management System. On the Health, Safety and Environment front, PPL has also achieved ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification for Mazarani, Adhi and Chachar fields, Sui Field Gas Compressor Station and Sui Production.
PPL is a signatory to the United Nation's Global Compact, a global charter binding member companies to conduct their business in an environment-friendly manner and ensure transparent, equitable policies towards all employees.
PPL's commitment to environmental conservation was recognised in 2006, 2008 and 2009 through the Annual Environmental Excellence Award, instituted jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme, National Foundation of Environment and Health, Ministry of Environment, Government of Pakistan, and Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Besides, PPL also won the 25th and 26th Corporate Excellence Awards in the fuel and energy sector by the Management Association of Pakistan for its sound business ethics and unfaltering commitment to quality. The company has played a significant role as a responsible corporate citizen since the inception of its commercial activities in Sui back in the 1950s when it established Sui Model School for children of workers and local communities.
Over time, the outreach and ambit of PPL's corporate social responsibility (CSR) portfolio has gone well beyond obligatory requirements. The programmatic scope of PPL's CSR activities encompasses education, health, infrastructure development and socio-economic uplift of disadvantaged communities, particularly those living in and around its operating areas.
In appreciation of PPL's commitment to social development, the company has won the Corporate Philanthropy Award for four consecutive years from 2004 to 2007. PPL also bagged the Best Corporate Report Award (BCRA) for its Annual Report 2008. The company stood first among five shortlisted organisations in the Fuel and Energy sector, scaling up three positions over last year when its report was ranked fourth in the sector.
This is the third BCRA that the company has won, the first being in 2005 followed by one in 2007. PPL also won the Large Taxpayers Unit Excellence Award for 2006 and 2008 on account of its contributions to the national exchequer. Currently, PPL employs approximately about 2,700 employees.
The company's human resource strategy is geared for recruitment, capacity building and retention of top-caliber staff through enabling corporate procedures and systems, competitive remuneration packages and timely acknowledgement of initiative and performance.
In line with shapeshifting business trends and priorities, staff competencies are enhanced through regular local and international training and educational opportunities for skill development and career progression. The company's rigorous on-job training programme ranks as one of the best in the industry. As many as 100 fresh graduates from relevant disciplines are selectively inducted for two years and offered employment at the end, subject to satisfactory performance and vacancies.
Challenges and Opportunities: Owing to increased exploration activities throughout the world, the operating climate for E&P companies is likely to remain intensely competitive in the foreseeable future. Consequently, PPL's future strategy is hinged on sustainable growth through exploitation of core capacities and forging strategic partnerships with other E&P companies focusing on operational excellence, business expansion and judicious investment in prospective growth options.
With respect to its core business, PPL is committed to upscaling exploration activities to boost its reserve-replenishment ratio and meet the country's rising energy demand. To this end, the development and operationalization of new discoveries is being fast-tracked to offset the decline in production from the company's mature fields and appropriate measures are underway to ensure production optimisation from existing fields by adopting innovative operational technologies. Similarly, the company also hopes to enhance its production through acquisitions and joint venture partnerships.