Energy sector: Pakistan, US firms to explore business opportunities during Houston mission

An oil and gas trade mission, led by Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard G Olson will explore and identify business opportunities in Pakistan's energy sector in a series of meetings with leading American entrepreneurs, beginning on Thursday.
During the two-day mission, nearly 30 private Pakistani companies, state-owned enterprises, and oil and gas officials are expected to meet with leading US energy companies to identify business opportunities, explain incentives offered by the Pakistani government and attract investment from the private sector to Pakistan's oil and gas sector, the State Department said.
The trade mission delegation includes officials from Pakistan Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, heads of seventeen leading Pakistani oil and gas firms, including both state-owned enterprises and private firms and representatives from the US Department of State and US Department of Commerce. The mission immediately follows the conclusion of the fifth US-Pakistani Energy Working Group in Washington under the Strategic Dialogue framework recently revived during Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Pakistan in August.
The Working Group in Washington was co-chaired by Minister Abbasi as well as Federal Minister of Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif and by Ambassador Carlos Pascual, US Special Envoy and Co-ordinator for International Energy Affairs. "The United States and Pakistan have worked closely on a sustained basis, including as part of the Strategic Dialogue framework, to better develop and diversify Pakistan's energy sector, a key priority of the Pakistani Government and people," the State Department noted.