Pakistan has been grappling with the economic crisis for a while now, facing hunger, unemployment, high inflation, climate change, and mounting debt. In a recent twist of events, Pakistan has reportedly discovered large deposits of natural gas and oil in its territorial waters after a three-year survey, potentially being the fourth-largest oil and gas reserve globally.
A senior security official at Dawn News TV, as quoted by TOI, underscored the significance of such discovery in changing the fate of the country.
The official said these reserves would be vital in forming a ‘blue water economy’ for the country.
The survey has located the site of reserves of these newly discovered resources and has duly informed relevant government bodies. However, it is pertinent to say that although the reserves are discovered, they are at the initial stage of exploration. It would be premature to consider them as an instant source of injection of funds into the economy of Pakistan.
It would take years of labor to dig wells and further extract oil will take years. Extracting the valuable minerals deposited in the ocean can fetch economic rewards to Pakistan, but it would be a steady development.
Venezuela currently has the largest oil reserves, with around 3.4 million barrels, followed by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada, and Iraq.
The United States is also known for the most untapped shale oil reserves.
In an interview with Dawn News TV, a former member of Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), Muhammad Arif, cautioning on depending all hopes on the Reserve, said that although the development is positive, it may happen that reserves may not end up being as large or as easily extractable as they seem.
“If this is a gas reserve, it can replace LNG imports, and if these are oil reserves, we can substitute imported oil,” he added.
Arif also raised the requirement of infusing financial investment in carrying out the process of exploiting these reserves. It may cost around 5 billion dollars.