SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Pakistan expects to receive $170 million in exploration commitments when it offers 17 oil and gas sites through bidding in June, a top government official said on Wednesday, as the country seeks to boost production. We are keeping a few blocks for a subsequent bidding in September, M Naeem Malik, director general of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources, told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia Upstream conference organized by Global Pacific Partners in Singapore. In this way, competition is higher so well get more investment, he said. He estimated that there will be more than 10 blocks available for bidding in the September round. The number of blocks on offer is lower than the figure given by a top government investment official in February. Saleem H. Mandviwalla, chairman of the Board of Investment, said the country plans to offer about 50 sites for oil and gas exploration in the June auction. Pakistan has proven and probable gas reserves of 280 trillion cubic feet, but so far it has only tapped 3 and 18 percent of its oil and gas potential respectively, Malik said.