Pakistan Awards Offshore Blocks Worth Up to $1 Billion

News Desk

Islamabad: Pakistan has awarded 23 offshore exploration blocks to four consortia led by local energy companies, marking the country’s first major offshore bidding round in nearly two decades, the Ministry of Energy announced on Friday.

The awarded blocks—covering approximately 53,500 square kilometres—were selected from a total of 40 blocks offered under the Offshore Bid Round 2025. The ministry said the successful bidders include state-run Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL), MariEnergies, and Prime Energy, the latter backed by the Hub Power Company (Hubco).

In a significant development, Turkiye’s national oil company, TPAO, secured a 25% stake and operatorship in one of the awarded blocks under a joint bidding agreement with PPL signed earlier this year. Other partners in the awarded consortia include United Energy Group (Hong Kong), Orient Petroleum, and Fatima Petroleum, a subsidiary of the Fatima Group.

The four winning groups have collectively pledged around $80 million in exploration work commitments over an initial three-year period. Total investment could rise to $750 million–$1 billion if the drilling phase proceeds successfully, the ministry noted.

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According to a recent basin assessment by DeGolyer and MacNaughton, a US-based petroleum consulting firm, Pakistan’s offshore basins hold significant untapped hydrocarbon potential, particularly in the Indus and Makran regions.

Energy Minister said Phase-I of the agreements will involve geophysical and geological studies, including seismic data acquisition and interpretation to map offshore reserves. Phase-II will focus on exploratory drilling in promising zones identified through these studies.

Pakistan’s 300,000-square-kilometre offshore zone, which borders energy-rich Oman, the UAE, and Iran, has seen only 18 wells drilled since independence, leaving much of its hydrocarbon potential unexplored.

Officials expressed hope that the new offshore bidding round and international partnerships will help revive foreign investor confidence in Pakistan’s energy sector, which suffered a setback after the 2019 Kekra-1 well project was abandoned following the exit of ExxonMobil.