DUBAI: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has hinted at finding ‘massive’ oil reserves in recent off-shore drilling off the coast of Karachi.
“Pakistan will not need to import oil after reserves are found near Karachi’s seas,” said Imran while talking to media at Prime Minister House in Islamabad on Monday, according to a report by https://gulfnews.com
“I will share good news with you soon regarding the discovery of huge off-shore oil reserves in the recent drilling,” he said, adding: “The nation should pray.”
God willing, he hoped, the reserves will be so large that ‘we will not need to import any oil,” Geo TV reported.
A group of multinational companies had started offshore drilling at a distance of 230 kilometers from Karachi for the exploration of oil and gas on January 14.
In December 2018, Exxon Mobil had announced that it would reinvest in the Pakistani market after a gap of nearly three decades.
Pakistan, after a gap of nine years, began offshore drilling to find huge oil and gas deposits in ultra-deep waters at an estimated cost of over $100 million.
“Pakistan has estimated nine trillion cubic feet gas deposits. ExxonMobil expects oil deposits there as well,” an official said in January.
Pakistan meets around 15-20 per cent of its energy needs through local oil and gas exploration and production, while the rest is met through expensive imports.