Karachi, July 27, 2023 – In a significant move aimed at enhancing Pakistan’s energy infrastructure, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) inked Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with two leading exploration companies on July 27, 2023, to collaborate on the establishment of a Greenfield Refinery Project.
(more…)Tag: PPL
-
Pakistan Petroleum signs agreement for Reko Diq Project
KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has announced signing of an agreement for reconstituted Reko Diq Project.
(more…) -
Gas price hike to further push up inflation
KARACHI: The recent approval by Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to increase the prices of gas will further push up the inflation, analysts said.
The country is already facing the alarming rise in inflation following sure in prices of petroleum products and electricity tariff.
The analysts at AKD Securities said that ECC approved hike in gas tariff after a break of almost two years, which was last increased in October 2020.
READ MORE: Gas price hike report baseless: Musadiq Malik
“The latest increase will put further pressure on already sky rocketing inflation, as manufacturers are likely to pass on the impact, resulting in higher product prices and slowdown in demand,” the analysts said.
However, the aforementioned hike will put brake on ballooning gas circular debt, which currently stands at Rs1.23 trillion. As per new flows, the move will generate Rs666 billion in revenue for gas distribution companies.
Export oriented sector including textile companies will also feel the pinch of this increase as the proposed hike for these sector stands at 77 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively.
This development will severely impact country’s exports due to rise in manufacturing cost and higher financing rate.
READ MORE: Govt. halts gas supply to export industry: APTMA
The proposed weighted average gas prices for domestic consumers stands at Rs885/mmbtu, up by 90 per cent. The government has also made some changes in domestic slabs which has now reduced to 5 as compare to 7 slabs earlier.
The gas bill of consumers who are using gas up to 400 cubic meter are likely to be affected most, due to increase of 253 per cent in tariff.
They said that the inflationary impact of the said development will be 66 basis points on Month on Month (MoM) basis, taking average inflation to 21.5 per cent for the current fiscal year.
READ MORE: FBR exempts sales tax on oxygen gas import
The gas tariff for fertilizer plants is proposed to increase by 42 per cent and 82 per cent for feed and fuel gas, respectively. As per estimates, this will increase cost of urea manufacturing by Rs420/bag for FFC, while the increase for EFERT is Rs340/bag, due to its reliance on PP12 based gas pricing.
The manufacturers are likely to pass on any increase in gas tariff as they have already increased urea price by Rs350/bag on 1st July.
The increase in gas prices is expected to bode well for the E&P sector, including Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MARI), as this would lead to improved cash collection for the companies in lieu of gas supply.
READ MORE: OGDCL discovers oil, gas reserves in Sindh
As of March 2022 quarter end, OGDC’s receivables from SNGP stood at Rs142.42 million (Rs33.11/sh), whereas those from SSGC stood at Rs163.58 million (Rs38.03/sh). Similarly, PPL’s receivables stood at Rs141 million (Rs51.82/sh) from SSGC and Rs181.8 million (Rs66.81/sh) from SNGP. Whereas MARI’s receivables stand at Rs5.9 million (Rs44.90/sh) from SSGC and Rs8.3 million (Rs61.90/sh) from SNGP.
Due to liquidity issues, the companies have historically faced challenges in expanding their exploration activities. During 9MFY22, 61 per cent of PPL’s total sales were derived from SNGP and SSGC, hence PPL stands to be a major beneficiary of the proposal gas price hike.
The much waited tariff increase is a positive development for gas distribution companies as it will improve their cash flows. Similarly, this will provide a breath of fresh air to E&P sector in the form better liquidity, thus allowing them to expand their exploration activities.
-
PPL announces Rs31.14 billion half year profit
KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) on Friday announced financial results for the half year ended December 31, 2021. The company announced Rs31.14 billion as net profit for the half year.
The net profit of the company grew by over 19 per cent when compared with Rs26.11 billion in the same half of the last year.
Pakistan Petroleum Limited is a Pakistani state-owned petroleum company. The company announced earnings per share at Rs11.44 for the half year ended December 31, 2021 as compared with Rs9.59 in the same period of the last year.
READ MORE: PPL gets license for large scale mining of Lead, Zinc
The board of directors of the company at its meeting held on February 25, 2022 approved the financial statements for the half year ended December 31, 2021.
The board of directors approved an interim cash dividend for the year ending June 30, 2022 of Rs1.50 per share on ordinary shares and Rs1.5 per share on convertible preference shares. The dividend will be distributed to those members whose names appear in the register of members of the company as at the close of business on March 10, 2022.
READ MORE: PPL posts 18% net profit growth in first quarter
According to the financial results, the revenue of the company increased to Rs90.42 billion for the half year ended December 31, 2021 as compared with Rs75.81 billion in the same half of the preceding year.
Operating expenses of the company eased to Rs19.96 billion when compared with Rs22.18 billion.
Exploration expenses during the half ended December 31, 2021 increased sharply to Rs9.04 billion as compared with Rs3.27 billion in the same half of the last year.
-
PPL gets license for large scale mining of Lead, Zinc
KARACHI: The government of Balochistan province has granted Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) for large scale mining of Lead and Zinc, according to a communication received by Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.
READ MORE: Pakistan Petroleum discovers hydrocarbons in Sindh
The PPL said that company had been granted a large scale mining lease for Lead and Zinc, in District Khuzdar, by the government of Balochistan and in this regard a large scale mining Lease Deed had been executed, for large scale mining and establishment of Lead-Zinc processing plant in district Khuzdar, Balochistan over an area covering 30 square kilometers (7,413.16 acres).
READ MORE: PPL posts 18% net profit growth in first quarter
The company said that the lease is valid for a term of thirty (30) years and shall be operated by Bolan Mining Enterprises, a 50:50 Joint Venture between PPL and the provincial government.
The estimated reserves of barite, lead and zinc are 69 million tons as per bankable feasibility by a renowned German Consultant, over a portion of the leased area.
READ MORE: PPL commences commercial gas production from Shah Bandar Block
The project would entail open pit mining with an ore beneficiation / process plant.
Positive cashflows are expected from year 3 while the estimated project life is 32 years.
-
PPL posts 18% net profit growth in first quarter
KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has announced 18 per cent growth in net profit of the first quarter ended September 30, 2021.
The company announced profit after tax of Rs16.86 billion during the first quarter (July – September) of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs14.32 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
PPL announced earnings per share at Rs6.2 for the quarter under review as compared with Rs5.26 EPS in the same quarter of the last year.
The board of directors of the company at its meeting held on Monday approved the unconsolidated and consolidated financial statements for the first quarter ended September 30, 2021.
The company declared revenue growth to Rs43.59 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs39.32 billion in the same quarter of the last fiscal year.
Operating expenses of the company also grew to Rs10.43 billion as compared with Rs9.4 billion.
Under the head of royalties and other levies, the company paid an amount of Rs6.43 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared with Rs5.95 billion in the same period of the last year.
The exploration expenses of the company increased to Rs4.86 billion during the quarter of July – September 2021 as compared with 2.29 billion in the same period of the last year.
-
ITMinds, PPL sign deal for accounting services
KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) & ITMinds Limited (ITMinds), a wholly owned subsidiary of Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDCPL), have signed an agreement enabling ITMinds to provide Back Office Accounting Services for PPL’s Retirement Funds.
This is a continuation of an earlier arrangement between ITMinds and PPL through which ITMinds had been successfully providing these BPO services to PPL, a statement said on Monday.
Through this arrangement, ITMinds will facilitate PPL for the accounting and administration of PPL’s Retirement Funds, including Pension, Provident and Gratuity funds, allowing PPL to focus on its investment decisions by leveraging ITMinds’ state of the art back office system and IT infrastructure while reaping the benefits of economies of scale.
Commenting on the occasion, Syed Rahat Hussain Naqvi, Senior Manager Finance-PPL, emphasized the importance of automation of back-office services for retirement funds for both process improvement as well as cost optimisation. He further appreciated how this arrangement with ITMinds in the last three years has helped to provide uninterrupted services, especially during the pandemic induced circumstances.
Also commenting on the occasion, Iqleem-uz-Zaman Khan, CEO – ITMinds, said that considering this is an era of specialization, ITMinds’ BPO services of fund accounting and administration enable companies to outsource their back office functions to a competent and reliable BPO partner while achieving efficiency, scalability and transparency of processes.
The event was also attended by, Shariq Jafrani CFO-CDC, Waqas Ashraf CFO- ITMinds, Muneer Hussain Manager Shared Services-PPL, M. Tarique Sheikh Senior Accountant-PPL and Salman Iqbal, Manager- ITMinds.
-
Pakistan Petroleum discovers hydrocarbons in Sindh
KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) on Thursday announced the discovery of hydrocarbons in Sindh province.
In a communication sent to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company announced the hydrocarbon discovery from the exploratory well, Jugan-1, in the Latif Block which is situated in the Province of Sindh.
The company holds a 33.30 per cent working interest; Eni Pakistan Limited holds 33.30 per cent and UEPL, which is Operator of the Block, holds 33.40 per cent working interest in the Block.
The well was drilled and tested using the operator’s internal expertise and in consultation with the Block’s joint ventures partners.
The well was drilled to a depth of 11,350 ft. with a reservoir target as Lower Goru Sands. After completion of well, B sand zone (11,122-11,132 ft KB) was perforated which flowed 12.6 MMscfd (million standard cubic feet per day) of gas at FWHP (wellhead flowing pressure) of 3063 psig (pounds per square inch) at 28/64” choke size. Followed by B Sand testing, C sand zone (10,300’KB – 10,310’ KB) was also perforated which flowed 13.7 MMscfd (million standard cubic feet per day) of gas at FWHP (wellhead flowing pressure) of 3323 psig (pounds per square inch) at 28/64” choke size.
The discovery is the result of an aggressive exploration strategy adopted by the joint venture partners, leading to new opportunities.
The discovery will contribute in improving the energy security of the country from indigenous resources and it will also increase the hydrocarbon reserves of the joint venture partners and the country.
-
Pakistani consortium awarded exploration in Abu Dhabi
KARACHI: According to a notice to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, a consortium of Pakistani companies has been awarded exploration in Abu Dhabi.
The consortium of PPL (operator), OGDC, MARI and GHPL has been awarded an Offshore Block-5 in Abu Dhabi.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the consortium participated in Abu Dhabi’s second competitive exploration bid round in 2019 for acquiring one of the five blocks (three offshore and two onshore) being offered by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).
For this purpose, ECC permitted these four companies to invest a total of $400 million ($100 million by each company) in August 2021 for 5 years by issuance of Corporate Guarantees in favor of ADNOC and Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs (SCFEA).
With this, the consortium formed a Special Purpose Vehicle, which made it eligible for the exploration block.
Following the concession award of Offshore Block-5, the consortium announced development of a company Pakistan International Oil Limited (PIOL) located at Abu Dhabi Global Market, where each company has a 25 per cent stake.
The awarded block is located 100 km North East of Abu Dhabi and has an area of 6,223 km². It resides in an area which has prospects of large hydrocarbon reserves.
Albeit, these E&P companies for the first time will be able to explore, appraise and develop oil and gas resources in Abu Dhabi and expand its footprint internationally.
Beside Pakistani companies, other international companies such as Eni (Italy), PTTEP (Thailand), Occidental Petroleum (US), Index (Japan), Bharat Petroleum Company (India) and Indian Oil Company Limited (India) have won blocks in Abu Dhabi, according to the analysts.
-
PPL commences commercial gas production from Shah Bandar Block
KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) on Tuesday announced start of commercial gas production from a block located in the province of Sindh.
PPL, the operator of the Block 246-16 (Shah Bandar), announced the commencement of commercial gas production from Benari Development & Production Lease (Benari D&PL) in Shah Bandar Block with effect from May 03, 2021.
The block is located in district Thatta and Sujawal, Sindh and lies in the southernmost part of the lower Indus basin.
PPL had announced discovery of gas from this block on December 08, 2018.
Benami X-1 well in Benari D&PL is the first exploratory well drilled in Shah Bandar block which is operated by PPL with 63 percent working interest along with its joint venture partners, Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) having 32 percent working interest, Sindh Energy Holding Company Limited (SEHCL) and Government Holding Private Limited (GHPL) with 2.5 percent working interest each.
Shah Bandar Joint Venture decided to process gas from Benamri D&PL at MPCL’s operated Sujawar Gas Processing Facility for onward injection in to SSGC network.
The expected gas production from the field is round 9 MMSCFD. “This arrangement has resulted in early commercialization of gas from Benari D&PL, which will add additional hydrocarbons enabling the energy sector to reduce the demand and supply gap of natural gas in the country.”