Islamabad, Pakistan, April 11, 2002—
The International Finance Corporation will provide US$30 million (Pakistani Rupees 1.83 billion equivalent) to LASMO Oil Pakistan Ltd. (LOPL), a subsidiary of Lasmo plc, which was acquired by Italy’s ENI SpA in 2001 to develop Pakistan’s Bhit natural gas field.
The project involves the development, at an estimated cost of $283 million, of the Bhit gas field located in Kirthar Block, 150 km north of Karachi in Sindh province.
As the project operator, LOPL will have a 40 percent stake in the Kirthar Block field with another 40 percent shares held by Kirthar Pakistan B.V., a subsidiary of Premier and Shell, and the remaining 20 percent shares held by the Oil & Gas Development Corporation Ltd., a government-owned company. Processed gas will be sold to Sui Southern Gas Company, one of Pakistan’s state-owned gas transmission and distribution companies. IFC’s $30 million loan will go towards financing LOPL’s share of development costs.
IFC’s Director of Oil, Gas and Chemicals, Mr. Rashad Kaldany said that “the project will have a significant developmental impact in terms of realizing Pakistan’s energy potential. It will help to satisfy the demand for alternative energy, facilitate substitution of gas for fuel oil by end-users of Bhit gas, promote natural gas as the fuel of choice for new industrial users in the Karachi region, and reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil.”
IFC’s mission is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. Since its founding in 1956 through the close of the last fiscal year on June 30, 2001, IFC committed more than $31 billion of its own funds and arranged $20 billion in syndications for 2,636 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s committed portfolio at the end of FY01 was $14.3 billion.
