Artificial Island to power Pakistan’s oil drilling drive

November 19, 2025 (MLN): Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. (PPL), a state-owned energy company, is reclaiming land from the sea to construct an artificial island that will serve as a launchpad to ramp up oil and gas exploration activities.

The island will be built about 30 kilometers (19 miles) off the southern Sindh coast, according to PPL’s General Manager Exploration and Core Business Development, Arshad Palekar, who spoke on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in Islamabad.

Designed with a height of six feet, the structure will prevent high tides from interrupting round-the-clock exploration operations.

Pakistan’s drilling momentum has increased after US President Donald Trump indicated interest in the country’s “massive oil reserves” in a July social media post.

Since then, authorities have issued offshore exploration licenses to companies including PPL, Mari Energies Ltd. and Prime International Oil and Gas Co.

The project is Pakistan’s first of its kind and draws on Abu Dhabi’s experience with artificial islands used for drilling, Palekar said.

Construction is expected to be completed in February, with exploration work beginning immediately afterward. PPL plans to drill around 25 wells as part of this initiative.

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