BP, Eni among winners of 41 Pakistan oil, gas blocks

Pakistan awarded 41 licenses to companies including BP Plc, Eni SpA and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd to search for oil and gas, in a bid to attract investment in the country’s energy industry.

“The successful bidders will be issued licenses within 15 days,” GA Sabri, special secretary at the Islamabad-based petroleum ministry, said in a phone interview today. The companies bid yesterday for 41 blocks out of 53 offered by the government, he said.

Pakistan Petroleum, the nation’s biggest gas producer, won 13 licenses, the most, while Oil & Gas Development Co, Pakistan’s largest explorer, got six, he said. Pakistan Oilfield Ltd was awarded two licenses, while BP and Eni won two and one, respectively, among others.

Pakistan is targeting to attract $15 billion in investment to develop its oil and gas industry over the next five years, Asim Hussain, former adviser to the prime minister on the oil industry, said in July. Pakistan is betting on oil and gas production to bolster growth as the government battles extremist violence and the economic crisis.