Pakistan to auction oil and gas blocks to boost output, trim reliance on imports

Pakistan plans to auction nearly 40 offshore oil and gas blocks and about 31 onshore blocks to scale up supplies, meet the country's energy needs and trim its energy import bill, a Ministry of Energy official said.

The official said March 14 that immense potential exists to dive deep into the barren sea to find gas and oil reserves.

"A large portion of Pakistan's energy resources remains undiscovered, and the government is committed to facilitating exploration efforts by offering incentives to investors," the official said, adding that the use of advanced technology and modern drilling techniques would help optimize energy extraction.

The date to auction the blocks has not yet been decided, the official added.

Pakistan's crude oil imports in the seven months ended Jan. 31, 2025, rose 10.7% year over year to 6.151 million mt, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed. Petroleum products imports increased 18% to 5.784 million mt during the period.

Pakistan's oil reserves climbed to 243 million barrels in the year ended June 30, 2024, from 193 million barrels at the end of June 30, 2023, according to Muhammad Iqbal Jawaid, a research analyst at Arif Habib Ltd.

The reserves rose due to an increase in the reserve size of major oil fields coupled with the inclusion of reserves from newly discovered wells, he said.

Oil reserves of major fields, such as Pasakhi/Pasakhi North East, Thora, Sono, Rajian, Bolan East, Kal and Kunar, surged manifold in the year ended June 30, 2024, Iqbal said.

Oil and Gas Development Co. (OGDCL), the country's biggest oil and gas explorer, has the largest exploration acreage. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company's acreage was 99,293 sq km, representing 39% of Pakistan's total area under exploration.

OGDCL spud four wells in the six months ended Dec. 31, 2024, compared with five wells during the same period a year earlier, the company said in a statement posted on the website Feb. 28. Drilling and testing work for six wells related to the fiscal year 2023-24 ended June 30, 2024, was also completed.

Pakistan's gas production in the week ended March 8, 2025, was about 3.033 Bcf, up 7.6% from a week earlier, while crude oil production was around 64,538 b/d, increasing 3.8% from a week ago, according to the latest data from the Pakistan Petroleum Information Service.

A major contributor of gas was the Mari fields, generating 0.933 Bcf, the Uch field with 0.383 Bcf and the Sui Gas field with 0.255 Bcf. The highest crude oil production was recorded from fields such as Nashpa, amounting to 10,446 b/d, Kunar Paskakhi Deep 6,254 b/d and Adhi field 5,454 b/d.