KARACHI: Pakistani petroleum exploration and production companies will invest more than $33 million under petroleum concession agreements (PCAs) and exploration licenses (ELs) signed on Wednesday, the Pakistani energy ministry announced.
The PCAs and ELs were signed by Momin Agha, the Petroleum Division secretary, Kashif Ali, director-general of petroleum concessions on behalf of the government, Ahmed Hayat Lak, managing-director and chief executive officer of the Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Shuaib A. Malik, chairman of the Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL), Sikandar Ali Memon, chief operating officer of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Dr. Nadeem Ahmed, head of exploration at United Energy Pakistan (UEP).
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Minister for Power and Petroleum Muhammad Ali, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr. Muhammad Jahanzaib Khan and others in Islamabad.
“The minimum investment to be carried out by the Exploration and Production (E&P) companies in these Blocks for prospecting will be over USD33.3 million in three years,” the Pakistani energy ministry said in a statement.
PCAs and ELs have been signed for eight blocks including Kotra East (2867-8), Murradi (2767-7), Sehwan (2667-19) and Zindan-II (3271-9) with Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), Multanai (3168-3) with Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL), Sawan South (2668-26) with United Energy Pakistan Limited (UEP), Gambat-II (2668-25) with Joint Venture of Pakistan Petroleum Limited (Operator) and OGDCL, and Saruna West (2666-1) with Joint Venture of POL (Operator), PPL and OGDCL.
These companies will make investments to develop production for blocks with discoveries, besides spending a minimum of $30,000 per year on social welfare schemes in each block in their respective areas.
Petroleum Minister Ali said the efforts would bear fruit for the country in the form of additional hydrocarbon reserves during the next few years. He hoped the execution of the ELs and PCAs would not only enhance investment in the petroleum sector, but they would also contribute to bridging the energy demand and supply gap.
The South Asian country is only 16.35 percent self-sufficient in oil production, while it meets the rest of the demand through costly imports.
Pakistani petroleum companies to invest over $33 million in exploration in three years — energy ministry
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Pakistani petroleum companies to invest over $33 million in exploration in three years — energy ministry
- These companies have signed petroleum concession agreements and exploration licenses for eight blocks
- Minister hopes agreements will enhance investment in petroleum sector, bridge energy demand and supply
Pakistan PM orders accelerated privatization of power sector to tackle losses
- Tenders to be issued for privatization of three major electricity distribution firms, PMO says
- Sharif says Pakistan to develop battery energy storage through public-private partnerships
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister on Monday directed the government to speed up privatization of state-owned power companies and improve electricity infrastructure nationwide, as authorities try to address deep-rooted losses and inefficiencies in the energy sector that have weighed on the economy and public finances.
Pakistan’s electricity system has long struggled with financial distress caused by a combination of factors including theft of power, inefficient collection of bills, high costs of generating electricity and a large burden of unpaid obligations known as “circular debt.” In the first quarter of the current financial year, government-owned distribution companies recorded losses of about Rs171 billion ($611 million) due to poor bill recovery and operational inefficiencies, official documents show. Circular debt in the broader power sector stood at around Rs1.66 trillion ($5.9 billion) in mid-2025, a sharp decline from past peaks but still a major fiscal drain.
Efforts to contain these losses have been a focus of Pakistan’s economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund, which has urged structural changes in the energy sector as part of financing conditions. Previous government initiatives have included signing a $4.5 billion financing facility with local banks to ease power sector debt and reducing retail electricity tariffs to support economic recovery.
“Electricity sector privatization and market-based competition is the sustainable solution to the country’s energy problems,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at a meeting reviewing the roadmap for power sector reforms, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
The meeting reviewed progress on privatization and infrastructure projects. Officials said tenders for modernizing one of Pakistan’s oldest operational hubs, Rohri Railway Station, will be issued soon and that the Ghazi Barotha to Faisalabad transmission line, designed to improve long-distance transmission of electricity, is in the initial approval stages. While not all power-sector decisions were detailed publicly, the government emphasized expanding private sector participation and completing priority projects to strengthen the electricity grid.
In another key development, the prime minister endorsed plans to begin work on a battery energy storage system with participation from private investors to help manage fluctuations in supply and demand, particularly as renewable energy sources such as solar and wind take a growing role in generation. Officials said the concept clearance for the storage system has been approved and feasibility studies are underway.
Government briefing documents also outlined steps toward shifting some electricity plants from imported coal to locally mined Thar coal, where a railway line expansion is underway to support transport of fuel, potentially lowering costs and import dependence in the long term.
State authorities also pledged to address safety by converting unmanned railway crossings to staffed ones and to strengthen food safety inspections at stations, underscoring broader infrastructure and service improvements connected to energy and transport priorities.
