ISLAMABAD: On Sunday, an agreement was signed to develop Pakistan’s shale and tight gas potential by the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Company Limited (CCDC), the country’s largest oil and gas producer and a division of China National Petroleum Corporation.
According to a press statement received here, Federal Minister for Petroleum Dr. Musadik Malik, who is currently in Xian, the provincial capital of Shaanxi province in China, observed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding during the ongoing Silk Road International Expo for Investment and Trade.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) emphasizes the two nations’ commitment to exploring Pakistan’s tight gas and shale resources in order to meet the nation’s energy demands using domestic resources.
On behalf of their respective organizations, Zhang Zhidong, Vice President of CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Company Ltd., and Mumtaz Ali Soomro, Executive Director of Production of OGDCL, signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan’s ambassador to China, was present at the function as well.
In his remarks at the event, Dr. Musadik Malik expressed the hope that future developments in the energy sector will further deepen the two nations’ cooperation to the mutual advantage of both.
He emphasized the cooperation between the OGDCL and CCDC on tight gas and shale and expressed hope that this alliance will usher in a new era in the discovery of Pakistan’s unexplored energy reserves.
