The official said the process to dig wells and get oil out of them could take several years, adding that it would have long lasting impact on national economy.
Pakistan discovers massive oil, gas reserves in its territorial waters. Significant reserves of petroleum and natural gas have been found in territorial waters of Pakistan, a development that can prove game changer for the cash-strapped country.
Reports said the reserves were found during a three-year survey, which was conducted in collaboration with a friendly country to verify the presence of the reserves.
The geographic survey helped Pakistan to find the location of the reserves, reports said, adding that the relevant departments have informed the government about the good news.
An official told leading English newspaper that study on proposals for bidding and exploration was underway, a statement which hints at the starting of the exploration work in the near future.
The official said the process to dig wells and get oil out of them could take several years, adding that it would have long lasting impact on national economy.
He believed that a quick action to materialize the project could help Pakistan improve its economy.
Currently, Venezuela is thought to be the leader in oil reserves with around 3.4 billion barrels, while the US has the most untapped shale oil reserves.
Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada and Iraq constitute the rest of the top five.
While talking to media, former Ogra member Muhammad Arif said even though the country should remain optimistic, there’s never 100 per cent certainty that the reserves would be discovered as expected.
When asked 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. “If this is a gas reserve, it can replace LNG imports and if these are oil reserves, we can substitute imported oil.”
However, he cautioned that it is a “wishful thinking” until the prospects for the reserves are analysed and the drilling process begins.
He pointed out that exploration alone required hefty investment of around $5 billion and it might take four to five years to extract reserves from an offshore location.
He said 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.
