IPO OF PAKISTAN PETROLEUM LIMITED SHARES TO OPEN FROM JULY 19 TO 22, 2004

Islamabad, July 03, 2004

The SECP and KSE have allowed Privatisation Commission (PC) to publish the Offer for Sale Document (OFSD) and to initiate subscription for Sale of shares of Pakistan Petroleum Limited ('PPL') through Lead Manger Elixir Securities Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd w.e.f from July 19 to July 22, 2004 during banking hours at the Government's offer price of Rs.55/= per share for the Initial Public Offer (IPO) The price for PPL IPO will be inclusive of the transfer fee and thus no additional transfer fee would be charged to the subscribers.

All the three stock exchanges of the country, Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad  had already cleared the Initial Public Offer (IPO) for Sale of shares of Pakistan Petroleum Limited ('PPL') by the government.

The government has approved the divestment of 15% shares of PPL through an  Offer for Sale of 10% (68.58 million) of the company's issued shares to the general public with a green shoe option of additional 5% shares in case of over subscription. Applications are being invited in multiples of 500 shares. In line with the government's objective of 'Privatisation for the People', preference in allocation will be given to the smallest applicants for 500 shares for a total investment of Rs.27, 500/=. Whereas this will directly benefit the small investors it will also help in broadening the  shareholder base and lend additional strength to the market. The listing of PPL will also add significantly to market capitalization. It is expected that PPL would become one of the highly traded stocks in the stock markets.

PPL is the fifth company after NBP, OGDCL, SSGC and PIAC whose shares are  being offered to the general public through the Capital Market during the last one-year. It is one of the large companies in the oil & gas exploration sector and is the owner of the Sui Gas fields.

Road shows / marketing presentations will be held in different cities of the  country including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, and Islamabad to make the public aware of the attractiveness of the investment opportunity and to educate them on the procedure for applying for the shares. Similar road shows are also being planned for overseas Pakistanis in the Middle East. Prior to the subscription period, investors are advised to open their individual accounts at the Central Depository Company ('CDC') for receiving the shares early. People opting for physical shares would need at least one extra month to be able to sell their shares.