A Chinese oil company has been granted two petroleum exploration licenses from the Pakistani government in accordance with agreements signed here Thursday.

China Zhenhua Oil Co. Ltd. will invest more than 200 million U.S. dollars in both licenses including G&G studies, 2D seismic of 500 line kms, 3D seismic of 100 square kms and drilling of three exploration wells.

The licenses cover a total area of some 5,000 square kms. The Bahawalpur East area lies in the Bahawalpur, Multan and Lodhran districts of the eastern Pakistani province of Punjab. And the Baska block lies in districts in three provinces of Punjab, the North West Frontier Province, and the southwestern province of Balochistan.

The execution ceremony was witnessed by Aman Ullah, Khan Jadoon, Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Muhammad Naseer Mengal, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Shaukat Hayat Durrani, Additional Secretary, and Luo Zhaohui, Chinese ambassador to Pakistan.

Zhenhua Oil, a specialized international oil company registered and established with the approval from the Chinese government, is currently involved in oil production in central Asia and Middle East countries.