The pioneer of the natural gas industry in the country, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has been a frontline player in the energy sector since the mid-1950s and has recently completed its Platinum Jubilee with 75 promising years of ensuring energy security for the country. As a major supplier of natural gas, PPL today contributes over 20% of the country’s total natural gas supplies besides producing crude oil, Natural Gas Liquid and Liquefied Petroleum Gas.

The company’s history can be traced back to the establishment of a public limited company in June 1950, with major shareholding by Burmah Oil Company (BOC) of the United Kingdom for exploration, prospecting, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. In September 1997, BOC disinvested from the Exploration and Production sector worldwide and sold its equity in PPL to the Government of Pakistan.

PPL acquired a 100% shareholding of MND E&P Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales. The name of the subsidiary was changed to PPL Europe E&P Limited.

The company also established a wholly-owned subsidiary, PPL Asia E&P B.V., with corporate seat in Amsterdam, Kingdom of Netherlands. The subsidiary focuses on exploration and production of oil and gas in the region.

In August 2021, a PPL-led consortium was awarded Offshore Block 5 in Abu Dhabi’s second competitive exploration block bid round. The consortium includes four leading national E&P companies, PPL as operator, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (ODGCL), Mari Petroleum Company Limited and Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL) with an equal shareholding of 25%.

To this end, a new company, Pakistan International Oil Limited (PIOL), was incorporated in the UAE with PPL as the management shareholder and entered into the concession agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. More recently, a Production Concession Agreement was signed for development of three pre-existing discoveries in Offshore Block-5, Abu Dhabi. The agreement secures PIOL’s 40% working interest in partnership with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), where ADNOC Offshore is the operator.

PPL operates 16 producing fields across the country at Sui (Pakistan’s one of the largest gas fields) and holds working interest in 24 partner-operated producing fields, including Qadirpur, the country’s second largest gas field.

As a major stakeholder in securing a safe energy future for the country, PPL pursues an aggressive exploration agenda aimed at enhancing hydrocarbon recovery and replenishing reserves. PPL, together with its subsidiaries, has a portfolio of 46 exploration assets, of which the company operates 25, including Offshore Block 5 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and a local offshore lease in Pakistan, while 21 blocks, comprising an onshore concession in Yemen, are operated by joint venture partners.

As part of its diversification strategy, PPL has strengthened its mining operations through Bolan Mining Enterprises (BME), established in 1974 with an equal shareholding of 50% each between PPL and the Government of Balochistan (GoB). The GoB and PPL have recently signed a firmed-up agreement for the Barite-Lead-Zinc Project.

More recently, PPL, in collaboration with ODGCL and GHPL (collectively, the SOEs), entered into agreements for the reconstitution of the Reko Diq project with Barrick Gold Corporation, Balochistan Mineral Resources Limited and the Government of Balochistan in December 2022. The project is managed through Pakistan Minerals (Private) Limited, which holds a 25% equity stake in the project. Reko Diq is one of the world’s largest copper and gold mines.

Over the years, PPL has developed a reliable foundation and infrastructure for providing clean and safe energy through sustainable exploitation of indigenous natural resources while adhering to best practices of corporate governance and employee health and safety and constraining the ecological footprint of its operations. As a result, its 15 fields and facilities stand certified for ISO 9001 Quality Management System and 13 each for ISO 14001 Environmental Management System and ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety Management System.

PPL has played a significant role as a responsible corporate citizen since the inception of its commercial activities in Sui by establishing the Sui Model School in 1957 for children of workers and local communities. In order to ensure geographical and thematic diversity, the company’s CSR programme focuses on education, healthcare, infrastructure development and socio-economic uplift of disadvantaged communities living in and around its operating areas as well as other parts of the country.

The company also initiated a Corporate Donations programme to reach deserving populations in urban areas. To this end, PPL has earmarked at least 1.5 percent of its annual pre-tax profit for CSR initiatives, with actual spending crossing the Rs. 4-billion-rupee mark.