ISLAMABAD- Exploration and Production (E&P) companies have made around 90 oil and gas discoveries in different parts of the country during the last six years. The companies found 12, 24, 17, 22, 12 and 3 hydrocarbon deposits in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively, out of which 10 were discovered in different parts of Punjab, 69 in Sindh, eight in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and three in Balochistan, according to an official document available with APP. The E&P companies, during first two years of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government, made 26 finds and added 9,444 BPD (Barrels per Day) oil and 218 MMCFD (Million Cubic Feet per Day) gas in the national pool against the depletion of 9611 BPD oil and 279 MMCFD gas from the operational wells. While, the companies have acquired around 5,110 2D Line-Kilometre and 2,693 Square-Kilometre seismic data to assess the potential of hydrocarbon deposits in different pockets during the two-year period. Pakistan’s total sedimentary area is around 827,268 square kilometres, out of which 320, 741 KM or 39 per cent of the area was under exploration. The country’s existing gas production stood at around 3.7 billion Cubic Feet per Day (BCFD) against the demand of 6 BCFD, adding the gas reserves were depleting at the ratio of 9.5 per cent per year. Making a true calculation of the country’s existing and future energy needs, the Petroleum Division has aligned its strategy to achieve self-sufficiency in oil and gas sector by introducing ease-of-doing-business and radical measures to ensure a level-playing field for all competitors. The Petroleum Division has identified as many as 40 new oil and gas exploration block, which would be awarded to potential E&P companies through a transparent bidding process as the companies could not make any significant discovery since long.