Oil has been produced in what is now the republic of Pakistan from the early 1920's. According to Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), Pakistan had proven oil reserves of 300 million barrels in January 2006. A number of fields were discovered in the upper Indus basin in the 1930's and 1940's. Since around 1980 a large number of hydrocarbon discoveries have been made in the central and southern parts of the country. In 1999 there were at least 70 oil and condensate fields in production, although none of them was of any great size. Total output has fluctuated within a range of about 55 000-65 000 b/d since 1989. In 2006, Pakistan produced an average of 58,000 bbl/d of crude oil, but has ambitious plans to increase its current output to 100,000 bbl/d by 2010. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Pakistan consumed an average of 362.38 thousand barrels a day of oil in 2007.
The country’s oil sector is regulated by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources. The Ministry grants oil concessions by open tender and by private negotiation. BP is currently the largest oil producer in Pakistan.
Although the level of proved reserves reported by the Pakistan WEC Member Committee has tended to drift downwards in recent years, natural gas remains a major energy asset for Pakistan. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Pakistan had 2007 proved natural gas reserves of 0.85 trillion cubic metres, with the major gas-producing fields being Sui in Balochistan and Mari in Sindh. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Pakistan had 2007 natural gas production of 30.8 billion cubic metres and consumption of 30.8 billion cubic metres.
Pakistan’s government has plans to build a pipeline from Iran’s massive natural gas reserves to Indian markets across Pakistani territory.
