Pakistan offshore drilling is set to begin soon as Türkiye’s Turkish Petroleum prepares to start operations in the country’s territorial waters, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik confirmed on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, the minister said the upcoming drilling would open the door for major foreign investment in the energy sector. He highlighted Pakistan’s heavy dependence on imports, noting that the country currently brings in around 90 percent of its energy needs. Domestic oil production stands at only about 70,000 barrels per day while daily demand remains close to 500,000 barrels. Malik stressed the urgent need to speed up local oil and gas exploration so that reliance on foreign supplies can be reduced.
According to the minister, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir have asked a leading international firm to prepare a complete roadmap for Pakistan’s energy sector. The plan will be presented to the national leadership in the coming months. Malik also stated that the flow of circular debt has been stopped and work is continuing to clear outstanding liabilities left by previous governments. He announced that LPG tenders would open on Monday and arrangements have been made to issue new gas connections to help consumers.
Looking ahead, Malik said Pakistan’s next major goal after recent strategic and diplomatic gains is sustainable economic progress. He described the Makkah defence agreement as a matter of national pride and noted that Pakistan has become a net security provider in the region. The combined strengths of Saudi Arabia’s economy, Türkiye’s technology and Pakistan’s defence capabilities, he added, will support regional stability.
The minister explained that difficult economic decisions taken by the government had helped stabilise the economy, and the focus has now shifted toward faster growth. He also referred to the Iran-US conflict, which created major challenges in global energy markets and pushed crude oil and petroleum product prices to high levels. Despite these pressures, the government managed to keep fuel supplies running without interruption across the country and tried to shield consumers from the full impact of rising international prices. Malik reaffirmed the government’s commitment to giving maximum relief to the public even with limited financial resources.
