ISLAMABAD: A long-dormant oil and gas block in northwestern Pakistan is set to be revived through a new joint venture between US company Hycarbex-American Energy and Pakistani partners Mari Energies and Fatima Petroleum, the petroleum ministry said on Wednesday.

The Peshawar Block, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has remained inactive for years due to regulatory delays, security challenges and a lack of financing. Its revival is expected to help Pakistan reduce dependence on costly fuel imports, ease persistent gas shortages and unlock untapped hydrocarbon reserves critical to sustaining industrial growth and household supply.

The revival of the block also marks one of the most significant US participations in Pakistan’s upstream energy sector in recent years and is seen as a potential catalyst for wider American investment in the country’s oil, gas and minerals industries.

Federal Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik announced the joint venture after meeting Hycarbex CEO Pierce Onthank and Mari Energies CEO Faheem Haider in Islamabad on Wednesday. 

“The commitment shown by these companies to unlock the potential of this block is commendable. It is crucial for our goal of indigenization and sustainability of fuel supplies, and we assure full support in facilitating its advancement,” Malik was quoted as saying in a statement by the petroleum ministry. 

Hycarbex CEO Onthank said the company was already working on three other exploration blocks in the country, the petroleum ministry statement said. 

“The energy opportunity in Pakistan is incredible,” he said. 

“Our company is committed to this market, and alongside our work on the Peshawar Block JV, Hycarbex-American Energy is also working on three other blocks in the country. We have done substantial investment in Pakistan. We are confident that this collaboration will yield significant results for Pakistan’s energy landscape.”

The project also aligns with the Pakistani government’s ongoing overhaul of the Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions (DGPC) to create a more efficient and investment-friendly regulatory framework aimed at attracting long-term foreign capital.

The JV comes amid a broader effort by Pakistan and the United States to deepen economic engagement, particularly in energy, minerals, trade and technology. 

Relations between the two countries have warmed under US President Donald Trump, who met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, the country’s army chief, at the White House last week in wide-ranging discussions on security as well as trade and investment.

Washington and Islamabad have also launched talks to encourage US private-sector participation in Pakistan’s economy and its energy transition.