Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Government Holdings Private Limited, jointly as State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), concluded definitive agreements with regard to participation in the reconstituted Reko Diq project, OGDC told the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in a filing on Monday.
According to the oil exploratory company, it has approved the execution of the definitive agreements and has also authorized the issuance of notices to convene an extraordinary general meeting for purposes of seeking approval of the shareholders of the company . for an investment in an associated company for the acquisition of 8.33% interest in the project and subsequent capital investments as may be required and/or feasible.
OGDCL further said that the parties intend to satisfy the conditions at the earliest.
Earlier in March, OGDCL and PPL also signed into a non-binding framework agreement with the federal government, GHPL, and Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick), to restart the Reko Diq project.
According to sources, the announcement came when the government of Pakistan and the provincial government of Baluchistan signed a new agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada to extract gold and copper reserves from Reko Diq, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, for a $10 billion investment.
Sources further reported that in line with the terms of the new agreement, the Reko Diq project would be revived and established by Barrick Gold in partnership with Pakistani entities. In addition, 50% of the new project will be owned by Barrick Gold while the remaining 50% shareholding will be owned by Pakistan- equally divided between the federal government and the provincial government of Balochistan.
Further details revealed that the project will be constructed in two phases at an initial estimated capital cost of around $7 billion and is expected to go into production between 2027 and 2028.