ISLAMABAD (THE THURSDAY TIMES) — Pakistan has awarded 23 offshore oil and gas exploration blocks in its first bidding round since 2007, marking renewed interest in the country’s underexplored maritime energy sector.
The Ministry of Energy said the licences were granted to four consortiums led by domestic companies including Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Mari Energies and Prime Energy, a subsidiary of Hub Power Company.
Turkey’s state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation has joined as a foreign partner, taking a 25 percent stake in one of the awarded blocks with Pakistan Petroleum Limited.
According to the Petroleum Division, the winning groups have committed about 80 million dollars in initial exploration spending over the first three years for seismic surveys and early-stage assessments. If commercially viable reserves are found, total investment could increase to between 750 million and one billion dollars during the drilling phase.
Pakistan’s offshore area covers nearly 300,000 square kilometres but only 18 wells have been drilled since 1947. The last major attempt, the Kekra-1 deep-sea well in 2019, did not produce commercial results.
Officials said the new awards follow recent policy reforms and fiscal incentives designed to attract international investment. The government hopes that renewed exploration will reduce dependence on imported fuel and expand the country’s domestic energy capacity.
