Trump’s Claim About Pakistan
There has been considerable discussion regarding Pakistan’s oil reserves following the announcement made yesterday by U.S. President Donald Trump, indicating that an agreement has been reached with Pakistan to develop its oil resources.
“Pakistan and the United States will collaborate on the development of their substantial oil reserves,” stated the U.S. President.
The Reality of Pakistan’s Oil Reserves
Pakistan is currently heavily dependent on oil imports to satisfy its domestic requirements. In the recently concluded fiscal year (FY25), the nation imported petroleum products valued at $15.93 billion, which constituted nearly 30 percent of its total imports.
Additionally, during FY25, local oil production in Pakistan experienced an 11.8 percent decline, reaching 62,225 barrels of oil per day (bopd).1
So, Are There Any Reserves?
Despite its dependence on imports, it is likely that Pakistan has substantial shale-based oil and gas reserves.
A report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2015 suggested that the country could possess technically recoverable reserves estimated at 9.1 billion barrels of oil and 586 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
In Pakistan, the assessment of shale gas and oil is confined to the extensive Central and Southern Indus Basins, collectively referred to as the Lower Indus Basin. The shales in this area have been the source of significant volumes of conventional oil and gas that have been discovered and produced in Pakistan, as noted in the report.
In September of the previous year, a senior official announced that a substantial reserve of petroleum and natural gas had been located within the territorial waters of the country.
In a statement issued today, Petroleum Division Parliamentary Secretary Mian Khan Bugti mentioned that considerable efforts are currently being made in Sindh in this regard, while oil reserves are also found in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which the government is actively working to extract.
Conclusion
Various studies indicate that Pakistan does possess significant unexplored oil reserves. However, the critical question remains regarding the recoverability of these reserves.This matter will only be validated once extensive exploration initiatives commence.
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