Pakistan to offer 50 sites for oil and gas exploration

Pakistan plans to put on offer about 50 sites for oil and gas exploration through bidding in June, according to a top government investment official cited by Reuters in a recent report. Pakistan imports about 80 per cent of its oil and incurred an expenditure of $9.5 billion on imports of 10.6 million tons of petroleum products and 7.8 million tons of crude oil in the last financial year.

The government of Pakistan last year announced a new petroleum policy to speed up the exploration process and attract higher investments, mainly in upstream sector.

According to Saleem H Mandiwalla, chairman of the Board of Investment, the government is expected to attract increased investment in the petroleum sector during the next fiscal year from July to June, adding that about 50 concessions would be offered in June through bidding.

Mandiwalla told Reuters that Pakistan would invite several companies from different parts of the world to evaluate the scope for exploration in the country. He added that the concessions would be offered for both onshore as well as offshore projects.
 
The country's unexplored gas reserves have been estimated at 62.26 trilllion cubic feet with unexplored oil reserves at 3.5 billion barrels. The oil and gas sector received $321 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) this fiscal which began 1 July.

Total FDI was down by 54.6 per cent to $1.17 billion in that period from $2.59 billion in the same period the previous year. Mandiwalla told Reuters that the global financial crisis and security fears contributed to most to the fall in FDI.

FDI inflows during 2007-08 fiscal stood at $5.27 billion dropping to $3.71 billion in 2008-09. Pakistan is a key US ally battling the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militants in the northwest, in which Pakistan has already spent $35 billion over the last eight years.