ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Petroleum Mr. Ali Pervaiz Malik on Wednesday witnessed the signing of Production Sharing Agreements and Exploration Licences for offshore blocks awarded under the Offshore Bid Round 2025, formally reopening Pakistan’s offshore frontier for exploration after nearly two decades.
The awarded blocks are in the Indus and Makran offshore basins adjoining the territorial waters of Sindh and Balochistan, Press Information Department reported.
The bid round attracted offers covering about 54,600 square kilometers of Pakistan’s offshore area, leading to the award of 23 blocks.
Two of those blocks including Offshore Deep-C and Offshore Deep-F were previously executed on Dec. 2, 2025, with Mari Energies Limited, Turkish Petroleum Overseas Company and Fatima Petroleum Company Limited during a ceremony at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Wednesday’s signing of the remaining 21 agreements completes the contractual framework for the entire 2025 bid round.
Speaking at the ceremony, Malik called the signing a defining milestone in the government’s push to revive offshore exploration, attract foreign and domestic investment, and cut reliance on imported energy. He said the agreements reflect strong investor confidence in Pakistan’s offshore potential, a 282,623-square-kilometer frontier where only 18 exploratory wells have been drilled since independence.
The minister also said the successful bid round shows the government’s commitment to making Pakistan a competitive offshore destination through a transparent, investor-friendly regulatory framework, including the new Offshore Petroleum Rules and a model production sharing agreement.
Mari Energies Limited was the most active participant, operating 18 blocks and serving as a joint venture partner in five others. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) each received eight blocks, with two blocks each as operator.
Prime Global Energies Limited was awarded one block as operator. United Energy Pakistan Limited and Orient Petroleum Incorporation also took part as joint venture partners.
The awarded blocks represent about $82 million in investment during Phase I of the initial three-year licence period. Total investment could rise to roughly $1 billion if exploration advances to Phase II drilling.
Phase I will include geological and geophysical studies and seismic data acquisition. If results are encouraging, Phase II will involve drilling exploratory wells.
Awardees also pledged social welfare and capacity-building initiatives in coastal regions of Sindh and Balochistan. Commercial discoveries could trigger hundreds of millions of dollars more for appraisal, field development and production, creating jobs, enabling technology transfer and reducing Pakistan’s energy import bill.
The Petroleum Division plans to engage leading international oil companies in the next exploration phase, with several global firms already evaluating available offshore data.
Malik reaffirmed the government’s commitment to a stable, transparent and investor-friendly environment for sustainable development of the country’s energy resources.
