Oil & Gas Exploration In Pakistan

Oil and Gas sector in Pakistan has seen phenomenal growth since the independence in 1947 when oil quantities produced were scarce. At that time there was no gas production. Over the past half century the petroleum industry has played a significant role in national development by making large indigenous gas discoveries. With looming energy crises and the ongoing growing demand for oil and gas in Pakistan, the exploration and production of oil & gas, or upstream has garnered considerable interest from investors (both local and foreign)

Pakistan is rich in natural resources and has the capacity to become self-sufficient in energy having huge sedimentary basins stretching over 825,000 sq. kms., Offering immense potential for exploration and development of the local natural resources with an exploration success ratio of 1 : 3.5. Pakistan has a large offshore basin which largely remains under explored which is an opportunity for investors all over the world. 

The Oil & Gas Sector has been identified as an engine of growth by the Government and its unprecedented growth is expected to further promote investment activities in the Country.

The Sector is providing an investment friendly environment for the oil & gas division to attract local and foreign investors. As a result of these financial and structural reforms, this sector has already emerged as one of the most attractive sectors for investment in the Country. The sector creates numerous jobs and accounts for a large part of the workforce in and out of Pakistan.

The oil & gas 10-year road map for private investment is aimed at drilling up-to 100 wells a year. The Government of Pakistan has chalked out a comprehensive and more investor friendly Petroleum Exploration & Production Policy offering bright prospects and greater incentives for accelerating exploratory and production efforts. The new policy will also help in reducing import of refined products to 90% of total consumption. Additionally, Pakistan is eyeing at acquiring an additional refining capacity of above 6 million tons per year. 

The Indus offshore has experienced only limited exploration and provides another opportunity for big discoveries which can be realized through employing state of the start seismic and drilling techniques. Currently the Government of Pakistan is working with numerous international Oil & Gas companies namely Schlumberger, Shell, OMV, ENI, MOL & TUV Austria Bureau of Inspection & Certification (Pvt.) Ltd. 

Apart from these European companies mentioned above, Chinese companies have expressed interest to invest in Pakistan’s oil and gas sector, the Petroleum Ministry has confirmed. 

It is also revealed that Pakistan has an estimated 160 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and this estimate includes 105 trillion cubic feet of Shale gas reserves.  Therefor companies are interested to invest in Pakistan oil and gas sector to explore for further reserves. 

Saudi Arabia (ARAMCO) is leading with the largest production with 11,730,000 (bbl/per day) with Pakistan ranking at 57 with (61,600 bbl/per day). Contrary to this disparity, Pakistan can increase its production immensely as a lot of areas are untapped due to lack of resources. 

For the Natural gas sector, Pakistan has been able to contest fairly if not strongly, in the “proven Natural Gas reserves” category ranked at 29th in the world. One of the largest Gas fields has been Pakistan’s Sui Gas Fields (SGF).

At the time of its discovery in 1952, SGF was considered among the largest natural gas fields in the world with recoverable reserves of around 12 Tcf. Despite diminishing reserves over time, SGF still remains one of the largest natural gas producing fields, contributing substantially to the country’s requirements with daily production of around 430 MMscf.

Keeping all the above points in our minds, Pakistan can completely counter its energy crisis if the Oil & Gas sector is given credible resources with the precise policies to attract foreign investors who have the technical knowledge and the viable resources required to achieve the desired results.