Compliance to the Environmental Law & Its Implications for the Oil & Gas Exploration & Production in Pakistan

The current Climate change issues in Pakistan & Globally is not merely a coincidence rather this has developed and got worse with the passage of time through industrial revolution, more demand of energy and the race to further development among each country. To meet the energy demands, fossil fuels, one of the primary resources of energy are being explored with unprecedented rate worldwide. May it be Land or Sea, desserts or forests, if there is a potential suspected, the Oil exploration firms start their activities. On one side, if this helps to meet the growing energy demands, on the other, more and more effects of such activities are changing the environment. To avoid severe and immediate damages, environmental protection rules and laws are being passed Globally the purpose of which is to make sure such activities are carefully planned and all checks are in place prior to starting the operations to avoid any harmful impact on the eco- system. Various countries have customized these laws as per their environmental visions and established organizations which make sure these laws are implemented and followed. Pakistan, a developing nation, is one of the countries who are in the game of Oil exploration also has set forth such Acts & Laws but the assurance that the Companies are operating under the established Environmental law of the Country has never been completely done. International firms and National entities have their own set of checks in place which try to follow the Federal and Provisional rules. The goals and authority of Provisional environmental protection agencies are defined at policy level but the implementation and monitoring steps have various loop holes which need to be filled. The differences in the working methodology, related to environment, between Government owned firm vs International operators also shows the mindset of the local environmental agencies. The environmental policies need to be updated at Federal and Provisional levels with more implementation and monitoring structure in place.