United Energy Pakistan Limited(UEPL).

Pakistan business

United Energy Pakistan Limited (UEPL) assumed control of oil and gas exploration and production assets managed by BP Pakistan in September, 2011. The company focuses primarily on exploration and production taking care of the whole process, from the first assessment of the site to the first production of oil and gas. All our operations are based in province Sindh, with the concession boundary starting 100 km to the east of Karachi.

We work in an area that spans 8 districts in Sindh province which are Badin, Tando Mohammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Thatta, Hyderabad (rural), Matiari, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas. These assets consist of 9 producing and exploration blocks in Sindh province and 4 offshore exploration blocks in the Arabian Sea. Recently the company also won bids for two new exploration blocks, Digri and Sanghar South, which lie adjacent to UEPL’s Mirpur Khas Khipro concession areas.

This translates to an onshore footprint of more than 10,000 square kilometres and the largest offshore acreage given to any single E&P company in Pakistan so far, situated 250 km south of Karachi in ultra deep waters.

Our offices are located in Karachi and Islamabad. We also have a field office in district Badin.

UEPL is a subsidiary of United Energy Group (UEG) a Hong Kong listed company engaged in oil and gas exploitation. UEG is primarily engaged in the upstream oil and gas business, including exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas and the provision of patented technologies in oilfield supporting services in China and Indonesia. The company has a joint venture partnership with China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) in one of its energy projects in China. UEG is also currently evaluating several projects in North America, South America and Central Asia.

The acquisition of these assets is its first venture in Pakistan. UEG is keen to grow its Pakistan business making this a promising move forward for all stakeholders associated with the assets purchased. The backdrop of Pak-China diplomatic ties is another positive, providing UEG a strong relationship advantage with Pakistan.

UEPL has a workforce which is 100% Pakistani and this includes all senior leadership positions – the team at UEPL boasts over 30 years of experience in oil and gas exploration and production. Whenever possible we hire from within the local community. With few opportunities for income generation in the region, UEPL is a major employer in this area. Through an exam and interview process we also take on recruits from our concession districts for our Operator Training Programme. We’ve trained nearly 300 operators through this programme; some have gone on to take up senior positions in our field operations, while others have moved to other reputed companies both in Pakistan and overseas.

Our oil and gas exploration and production partners in Pakistan are Government Holdings Private Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Zaver Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bow Energy Resources (Pakistan).

As a conscientious corporate citizen we try and make a difference to the lives of local people in areas where we operate. To do this, we give financial support to projects in health, education and infrastructure development.

We support local health services through financing the purchase of vital medical equipment for hospitals and building basic health centres within the local community, providing anti-snake venom for the community and training Traditional Birth Attendants, to name a few.

The company has also invested in the uplift of education in the concession districts with a special emphasis on female literacy. We have built the Degree College for women at Matli. More than 4,000 girls have graduated from the college so far, with many taking up professions like engineering, medicine and teaching. The only two higher secondary girls’ schools in the entire district of Badin have been built by UEPL. We have also constructed new primary schools in remote villages within our concession. Two primary schools to be managed by The Citizen’s Foundation are also under construction in our concession area.

For one of our CSR projects we joined hands with the United Nations Development Programme for sustainable community development in the concession, where we worked together to launch community welfare projects such as the introduction of energy efficient technologies, livestock farming of indigenous species, cultivation of income-generating varieties of crops on saline land etc. Local NGOs are implementing partners for most of these projects with UNDP building the capacity of local organisations in order to make these initiatives sustainable.

In times of need and emergencies caused by tragic events or natural disasters like the recent floods in Badin and the deadly earthquake in northern Pakistan in 2005 the company has been providing humanitarian aid to help bring relief.