Abundant Oil, Gas Reserves Found In Pakistan Waters: Report (representational image)
A significant deposit of petroleum and natural gas has been discovered in Pakistan’s territorial waters. A report said the deposit is so large its exploitation could change the country’s destiny. The survey, that longed three years, was done with collaboration from a friendly country to verify the presence of oil and gas, reported DawnNewsTv, quoting a senior security official.
The geographic survey has allowed Pakistan to identify the location of the deposits. Departments relevant to the developments informed the government of the resources found in the country’s waters.
As an effort to benefit from the resources, the official called it a “blue water economy”. He said proposals for bidding and exploration were being studied. This indicates that the exploration work can be started in the near future. However, digging wells and getting hands on oil might take years, he added. He also said that taking quick actions could help turn the tables for the country’s sinking economy. Reportedly, the discovery constitutes the fourth-largest oil and gas reserves in the world.
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It is believed that the ‘blue water economy’ can yield more than just oil and gas, as there are several other valuable minerals and elements that can be mined from the ocean.
At present, Venezuela is thought to be the leader in oil reserves with around 3.4 billion barrels, while the U.S. has the most untapped shale oil reserves. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada and Iraq constitute the rest of the top five.
Former Ogra (Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority) member Muhammad Arif told DawnNewsTV that, even though the country should remain optimistic, there’s never 100% certainty that the reserves would be discovered as expected. To the question of if these reserves are enough to meet the country’s energy needs, he said it depends on the size and recovery rate of the production.
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“If this is a gas reserve, it can replace LNG imports and if these are oil reserves, we can substitute imported oil”, he said. He cautioned that it is “wishful thinking” until the prospects for the reserves are analysed and the drilling process begins.
Arif pointed out that exploration alone required a hefty investment of around $5 billion and it might take four to five years to extract reserves from an offshore location. He further added that if the exploration resulted in the discovery of reserves, then further investment would be needed for wells and laying down the infrastructure to extract the reserves and produce fuel, reported Dawn.
