In view of the fact that Pakistan has already consumed 79.8% of its total oil reserves and 66.6% of its natural gas reserves, the future energy landscape of Pakistan could be bleak.
An oil report sent by the Petroleum Division to the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) states that Pakistan has used 985 million barrels of oil out of its 1,234 million barrels, which is 79.8% of the total oil supply. In terms of reserves, there are currently 249 million barrels that remain.
Balochistan has used up around 13 percent of its oil reserves, according to the Petroleum Division of the Ministry of Petroleum. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), 64 percent of the resources of the province have been consumed, Punjab 84 percent, and Sindh 84.5 percent have been consumed.
Gas is one of Pakistan’s largest exports, and is used primarily for the country’s domestic needs. In spite of the fact that the country was self-sufficient in the past, political considerations and the introduction of gas-supply systems have made it necessary to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) since 2015 in order to maintain its gas supply systems.
READ MORE: Morocco’s Dream Run in FIFA World Cup Was Predicted in a Movie in 2006 [Video]
As per the report of the Petroleum Division of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Pakistan has consumed 66.6% of its natural gas, while 33.4% remains untapped. It has been noted that exploration and production (E&P) companies have not been able to increase gas production since 2000, in addition to failing to make major discoveries as well.
Balochistan still has 26% of its recoverable gas reserves; K-P has 40% and Sindh has 35%.
Pakistan’s major energy source is natural gas. It has 33% of its own gas, 10% LNG, and 1% liquefied petroleum gases (LPG)
AGP noted that the Petroleum Division’s report indicated that the primary reason for the growing gap between the demand and supply of natural gases in the country was a rapid depletion in existing reserves, with no significant discoveries since 2001.
Domestic production is at a deficit of 0.507 TCF between production and demand. This means that imports of LNG of 0.382 TCF (8.1 Mt) are required. The share of LNG in natural gas supply has increased to 29% over time.
The current net shortfall is 0.125 tcf. This can be addressed by the reduction of gas supply or load management to different parts of the economy.
