Karachi: The 68th Annual General Meeting of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) was held on October 28 at Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi. Members approved financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 together with the auditor’s report. Final cash dividend of 20 percent on ordinary and convertible preference shares besides 20 percent bonus shares to ordinary shareholders and 10 percent to convertible preference shareholders was also approved.
Chairman, Board of Directors Shamsul Islam presided over the proceedings and shared that PPL continues to strengthen its position as a leading oil and gas company and create healthy returns for all stakeholders. Islam acknowledged management and staff efforts as well as the government support in achieving the company’s strategic objectives.
MD & CEO Moin Raza Khan highlighted PPL’s progress and achievements during 2018-19, the most significant being the company scoring its highest-ever profit- after-tax of Rs 61.6 billion along with a record number of 11 discoveries in a year in company and partner-operated assets. PPL also drilled the first-ever international exploratory well, Madain-1, in operated Block 8, Iraq, a first for a national company.
Focussing on key operational highlights, Khan mentioned drilling of 30 exploratory and development wells, including Kekra-1 in partner-operated off shore Indus G block which encountered excellent quality reservoir but was aborted due to difficulty in locating hydrocarbons. He also shared ongoing efforts for expanding the company’s exploration portfolio through farm in/ out and acquisition of 2 new blocks at the recent bidding round, making a total of 47 blocks.
The company continued development activities to optimize production from existing fields that led to an average production of 977 MMscfde in 2018-19. In this, he also mentioned commissioning of GPF-IV during phase I at Gambat South and Nashpa LPG plant as well as highest-ever production of 228,310 tonnes barytes from Bolan Mining Enterprises.
In tune with best governance practices, PPL continued to develop its human resource base through training by local and international experts. On the CSR front, the company clinched the14th consecutive Corporate Philanthropy Award for being among the top contributors.
Moving forward, Khan stressed on continuing faced-paced exploration, especially in high rewarding frontier basins, expanding PPL’s portfolio with reputable E&P companies along with pilot projects for exploring tight and shale gas potential.