Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has confirmed that Türkiye’s Turkish Petroleum will soon begin offshore drilling in Pakistan’s territorial waters.
Speaking at a press conference in Lahore on Sunday, Malik said that the drilling activity could bring foreign investment into the country’s energy sector.
Pakistan currently imports around 90 percent of its energy needs, while local oil production is about 70,000 barrels per day compared with the daily demand of around 500,000 barrels, according to the minister.
Malik mentioned that increasing domestic oil and gas exploration was necessary to reduce the country’s dependence on imports.
He said that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir had assigned an international company to develop a roadmap for Pakistan’s energy sector. The plan is expected to be presented to the country’s leadership in the coming months.
The minister also said that the flow of circular debt had been stopped, while the government was working to settle liabilities accumulated under previous administrations.
He announced that tenders for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) would open on Monday, adding that arrangements had been made to issue new gas connections to consumers.
Malik stressed that Pakistan’s next priority after its strategic and diplomatic achievements was to achieve sustainable economic growth.
He described the Makkah Defence agreement as a matter of national pride, pointing out that Pakistan had become a net security provider in the region.
According to Malik, Saudi Arabia’s economic strength, Türkiye’s technological capabilities and Pakistan’s defence capacity could together contribute to regional stability.
The minister added that the government had taken difficult economic measures to stabilise the economy and was now focusing on increasing economic growth.
Speaking about international developments, Malik said that the United States (US) and Iran conflict had put pressure on global energy markets and caused crude oil and petroleum product prices to rise sharply.
He stated that the government had maintained fuel supplies across the country despite the increase in international prices and had taken steps to limit the impact on consumers.
Malik said that the government will continue working to provide relief to the public despite financial constraints.
