Pakistan Inks Five Oil and Gas Exploration Deals

 

Pakistan has signed five deals for oil and gas exploration with local private and state-owned companies that will develop three offshore and two onshore blocks, Pakistani media reported, citing a securities filing.

The companies that will be involved in the development of the five blocks include Mari Energies, Oil & Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan Petroleum, Fatima Petroleum, Government Holdings Limited, and Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company.

Last month, the Pakistani government auctioned 40 offshore blocks and got 23 bids from four consortia involving local energy companies and Turkey’s state-owned energy major Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortakl???.

The four consortia have committed $80 million in investments for the exploration phase of the blocks’ development, with potential total investments that could reach $1 billion if they move on to the production phase.

An earlier report cited Turkish energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar as saying the Turkish state energy firm had inked deals for the development of the five blocks with local Pakistani companies and was planning on beginning exploration activities in 2026.

The official also highlighted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's earlier visit to Pakistan, which set a target of boosting bilateral trade to $5 billion. Energy and mining collaboration, Bayraktar said, will be critical in reaching—and potentially surpassing—that goal. The two countries are also exploring a joint procurement model for energy products, including LNG, to leverage scale and reduce costs.

Earlier this year, Pakistan also inked an energy deal with the United States, with President Trump saying U.S. companies will take part in the development of Pakistani oil and gas resources.

“We have just concluded a deal with the country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in August, following the signing of the deal. “We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this partnership. Who knows, maybe they’ll be selling Oil to India someday!”

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com