Pakistan is reopening its offshore energy sector after almost two decades of inactivity, launching a major deepwater exploration program designed to strengthen domestic energy production and reduce reliance on imported fuel.
The country’s Federal Minister for Petroleum, Ali Pervaiz Malik, has finalised 21 new production sharing agreements and exploration licences as part of the Offshore Bid Round 2025.
Combined with two offshore blocks already awarded in December 2025, the initiative now covers 23 deepwater blocks spread across approximately 54,600 square kilometres in the largely underexplored Indus and Makran basins.
Authorities say the agreements immediately secure around $82 million in committed investment dedicated to seismic surveys and geological studies. If exploration results prove promising and move toward deepwater drilling phases, the total investment potential could eventually climb to nearly $1 billion.
Mari Energies Limited emerged as the biggest participant in the licensing round, taking operatorship of 18 blocks while also joining five additional projects as a partner.
Meanwhile, Oil and Gas Development Company and Pakistan Petroleum Limited each secured interests in eight offshore blocks.
Other companies involved in the new offshore programme include Prime Global Energies, United Energy Pakistan, Orient Petroleum and Turkish Petroleum.
Officials believe successful discoveries could bring long-term economic benefits to coastal regions in Sindh and Balochistan through new jobs, infrastructure projects and technology transfer. Several international energy majors are also reportedly reviewing Pakistan’s offshore geological data as interest in the country’s maritime energy potential grows.
Despite Pakistan’s maritime economic zone covering more than 282,000 square kilometres, offshore exploration activity has remained extremely limited over the decades. Since the country’s independence in 1947, only 18 offshore exploratory wells have been drilled.
Momentum now appears to be returning. Earlier this year, Pakistan Petroleum Limited confirmed plans to drill a new offshore exploration well in 2026 on the Sirani block near Sujawal district, roughly 30 kilometres offshore.
The company will rely on seismic data collected between 2006 and 2007 for the operation. If the first well confirms commercially viable reserves, the project could later expand to as many as 25 wells in the area.
