KARACHI: A significant deposit of petroleum and natural gas has been found in Pakistan’s territorial waters, with the potential to transform the country’s economic landscape, according to a senior security official quoted by DawnNewsTV on Friday.
The official revealed that a three-year survey, conducted in collaboration with a partner country, confirmed the presence of these substantial oil and gas reserves. The geographical survey has pinpointed the deposit’s location, and relevant departments have informed the government about the new resources.
The discovery is being hailed as a crucial step towards harnessing the ‘blue water economy,’ with ongoing studies on bidding and exploration proposals indicating that exploration activities could commence soon. However, the process of drilling wells and extracting the oil could take several years.
Beyond petroleum and natural gas, the ‘blue water economy’ holds potential for mining other valuable minerals and elements from the ocean. The official stressed that acting swiftly could significantly enhance the country’s economic prospects.
Some estimates suggest that the newly discovered reserves could rank as the fourth largest globally. Currently, Venezuela leads with approximately 3.4 billion barrels of oil reserves, while the US holds the most untapped shale oil reserves. The top five also include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada, and Iraq.
Former Ogra member Muhammad Arif advised cautious optimism, noting that while the discovery is promising, certainty about the reserves’ full potential will only come after thorough analysis and drilling. He explained that if the reserves are substantial, they could potentially replace LNG imports or substitute imported oil.
Arif highlighted that exploration alone requires a significant investment of around $5 billion and that extracting reserves from an offshore location could take four to five years. Further investments would be needed for drilling wells and developing the necessary infrastructure for extraction and production.
