ExxonMobil, one of the biggest oil companies in the world, has acquired 25% stake in offshore drilling in Pakistan.
After Exxon’s acquisition, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) and, Italian firm Eni will hold 25% stake each in drilling in Pakistan. Previously, OGDC, Eni, and PPL held 33% share in offshore drilling in the country.
ExxonMobil’s entry means that the oil and gas exploration will receive a boost as the company is loaded with top-notch equipment.
Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL), PPL, Eni, and OGDC signed the agreement with Exxon at Prime Minister’s Secretariat on Monday.
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Oil and Gas Reserves in Pakistan
According to US Agency for International Development (USAID), Pakistan has;
- 10,159 trillion cubic feet of shale gas and,
- 2.3 trillion barrels of shale oil.
USAID collected data samples from 1,611 wells and sent them to New Tech Laboratory in Houston for the calculations.
These estimates are way higher than previous calculations of US Energy Information Administration (EIA). According to EIA, Pakistan’s oil and gas reserves are as follows;
- As of 2013, Pakistan had 286 trillion cubic feet of shale gas out of which 105 trillion cubic feet were recoverable.
- In the same year, Pakistan had 227 billion oil barrels in deposits out of which 9.1 billion were technically recoverable.
A feasibility study will be conducted before the drilling is initiated in the allocated areas to the companies. It is pertinent to mention here that well drilling requires eight million barrels of water for one well. Pakistan isn’t really short on water, however, its disposal will be the real issue.
