Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday formally marked the production enhancement at Kandhkot Gas Field (KGF) at a ceremony hosted by Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL). The Prime Minister while speaking at the event said the government is committed to making efforts towards reducing demand-supply gaps of gas and power in the country.
PPL achieved the extraordinary feat of delivering the near-impossible target of scaling up gas from KGF to 230mmscfd ahead of time. The record production enhancement within tight deadlines was made possible due to company's consistent efforts to tap optimal potential of Kandhkot, especially since its commitment to the government last year that it would provide additional gas for power generation through fast track drilling in a challenging environment, the addition of two compressor units and debottlenecking of production facilities. To this end, six development wells were drilled in record nine months with multi-rig operations, successfully finding sweet spots in a mature filed and enhancing field capacity by 90mmscfd gas which can be delivered to the national grid.
An additional three development wells are planned to be drilled this year to sustain the production plateau. The Prime Minister lauded PPL's contributions to government's resolve to bridge the demand-supply gap through ramping up production, particularly from its mature fields, notably Kandhkot. Speaking on this occasion, the managing director and chief executive officer of PPL Syed Wamiq Bukhari highlighted the company's aggressive exploration and production programme with a focus on remarkable production enhancement from Kandhkot.
He also shared PPL's recent achievements, including net production crossing 1bcfpde mark along with a record drilling of 25 wells in operated areas during 2016-17, an all time high for the company. He also highlighted the PPL's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in Sindh, including Kandhkot. State Minister Jam Kamal, provincial and local government officials, area notables and company officials also attended the event.
APP adds: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday announced a comprehensive development package worth above Rs 2.5 billion for infrastructural uplift of Nowshero Feroz district for provision of gas, electricity and the construction of roads.
Addressing a public gathering here, the prime minister said Rs 1.5 billion grant would be spent for provision of gas and electricity to various areas of the district and another Rs 1 billion for construction of roads. The prime minister was accompanied by Governor Sindh Muhammad Zubair, federal minister Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, minister of state Jam Kamal and other party leaders.
The announcement of the mega development projects for the district of opposition-led Sindh province prompted the already charged gathering to chant full throated slogans in support of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the prime minister. The prime minister also announced the launch of his health insurance card scheme to support medical treatment of the poor families besides nodding to the party leaders' demands of establishing a food processing plant, a railway stop and a grid station in the area.
The prime minister also approved a fund of Rs 200 million for a town committee on the request of a party leader in the area. This is the difference between the mindset selling the jobs and the one giving rights to the rightful people, he commented criticizing the apathy of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party to the issues of the people in their province.
Prime Minister Abbasi said that the country could only achieve progress through democracy and recalled that the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed between former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and late Benazir Bhutto had committed to bring an end to political victimization and respecting the public mandate. Expressing his dismay over the non-adherence to the CoD, he called for carrying forward the same commitment as only democracy could guarantee the stability of the economy, provision of jobs and justice.
He told the public gathering that the government accepted the July 28 verdict of the Supreme Court and new prime minister was nominated by the party with no aspirant in the party for the slot. Such a beautiful democratic transition put to rest all the rumours of disintegration of the party and desertion by the parliamentarians, he added.
The decision of July 28 was indeed a great ordeal but it was also a victory of democracy, the prime minister remarked. He said only the PML-N and Nawaz Sharif ensured the integration of the country as he was the one who proved his agenda of public welfare and development through his actions, not merely words. He said after 18th amendment, like other provinces, the resources for Sindh too had been doubled but unfortunately those were going to corruption showing the failure of the provincial government.
To the public demand of job opportunities, the prime minister said it was the issue across the country but the federal government was toeing a policy of giving jobs to the rightful aspirants on merit, not by minting money. He assured the people that China Pakistan Economic Corridor would help create employment opportunities and stabilizing the national economy.
However, he reiterated that the issues would continue lingering on until the resources are duly utilized for public welfare, not the political interests. Prime Minister Abbasi recalled that it was always the Nawaz Sharif-led government that enhanced the country's road network as currently motorways were being constructed across Sindh.
He told the gathering that the incumbent government completed the Kachi Canal project costing Rs 28 billion that had been lingering on for the last three decades. He said a vast stretch of the canal passed through Punjab province without giving any share in the water that had been purely dedicated to irrigate thousands of acres of land in Balochistan.
About the power generation, the prime minister said the government had produced around 10,000 megawatt during last four years against only around 20,000 megawatt generated since inception of Pakistan. The prime minister said the federal government believed in granting due rights to the provinces as all of their issues were discussed and resolved in Council of Common Interests leaving no province to complain about the distribution of resources.
Prime Minister Abbasi said the world had now admitted that Pakistan's economy was getting stronger against the previous notions about the country being on the verge of bankruptcy. He said the growth rate now stood at six percent and the development projects executed by the government would not only resolve the current problems but would also cater to the future needs of the country. The projects of gas and electricity would address the energy issue till 2030 and the road network would suffice the needs for the next 50 years.
He said consequent to the joint efforts by the government and sacrifices by the security forces, Pakistan had defeated the terrorist forces and would eliminate the residues as around 0.2 million soldiers were still engaged to fight the menace.
The prime minister said Pakistan's security had defeated the terrorism which could not be tackled by the whole world. Recalling a terror attack on a shrine which took place in Balochistan on Thursday, the prime minister said the terrorists chose to hit such peaceful places out of their inability to target any other place. He also asked the people to draw comparison between the peace situation in Karachi of today and four years ago and termed it a gift of the PML-N and Nawaz Sharif.
After announcing the development package, the prime minister asked the people to give their verdict for the next five years in the elections scheduled to be held after some nine months.
The political decisions are not taken in courts and on streets. Neither they should be. This is democracy, he remarked urging the people to compare the ongoing five-year tenure of the PML-N and the one completed by PPP earlier. Earlier, the prime minister also lauded the political career of Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Raheem and Syed Zafar Ali Shah, hoping they would continue upholding the positive political traditions in future too.
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