Pakistan seeks stable policies to unlock offshore exploration investment

August 20, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan is seeking consistent and predictable energy policies to attract major investment in upstream exploration, particularly offshore projects, Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik said on Thursday.

Addressing the Energy Conference 2026, the minister said Pakistan was reviving offshore exploration after two decades under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with friendly countries, Mari Petroleum, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) participating in the initiative.

He said investors undertaking high-risk exploration required policy consistency and medium-term visibility, particularly when a single well could involve investment of more than $100m, according to APP.

He also stressed that investors should be allowed to retain profits from successful exploration and reinvest them in developing the required infrastructure, saying this was necessary for sustainable growth of the sector.

The minister identified Pakistan’s vulnerability to external shocks as its foremost crisis and stressed that petroleum should form an integral part of the country’s medium-term national energy policy.

He called for greater coordination among the petroleum, power and water divisions and said the government also needed to consider demand outlook and the impact of broader economic activity on the petroleum sector.

Ali Pervaiz Malik said the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE), chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had been reactivated and several meetings had already been held.

He said he had proposed that the committee meet every two months, regardless of whether it had a specific agenda, to review developments across the energy value chain.

The minister said the committee brings together the petroleum, power and finance ministers to collectively determine how the energy sector can be taken forward on a sustainable basis.

He said every sector and division needed to stand on its own feet, adding that the Petroleum Division could not continue to bear excessive taxation and financial interventions merely to meet budgetary requirements.

He said sustainable investment was particularly important for high-risk upstream exploration, both onshore and offshore, as Pakistan sought to improve its energy security.

On circular debt, Ali Pervaiz Malik said the government had maintained its flow at near-zero levels without increasing consumer prices.

Regarding the midstream sector, he thanked refineries for providing relief through reduced diesel prices amid volatile market conditions, saying they had responded positively to the government’s request.

However, he said the government needed to address why local refineries remained in a dilapidated state and had not been upgraded to deep-conversion facilities.

He said the new refinery policy and operational flexibility were intended to address these longstanding issues.

The minister said the Petroleum Division secretary was finalising agreements with refineries and a signing ceremony would be held.

On gas-sector reforms, Ali Pervaiz Malik expressed gratitude to the World Bank for supporting efforts to unbundle and reform the sector.

He said the government was examining ways to separate the infrastructure business from the energy business, introduce greater competition, improve liquidity in the upstream sector and enhance efficiency and optimisation.

The World Bank-supported report was expected by the end of August and would subsequently be presented to the prime minister, he added.

The minister said greater competition had already been introduced through the third-party access regime and the government would continue developing the platform.

He said deregulation and greater private-sector participation remained key government objectives for reforming the energy sector.

Ali Pervaiz Malik said the government would continue pushing reforms regardless of criticism or their popularity, adding that the true measure of its work would be how future generations viewed the decisions taken by the current leadership.

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