ExxonMobil, an American multinational oil and gas company has indicated that it is close to find huge oil reserves near Pak-Iran border. Addressing business leaders at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), the then minister for Oil and Gas revealed this. ExxonMobil has so far drilled up to 5,000 meters close to the Iranian border and is optimistic about the oil find.
The Government of Pakistan has already taken an undertaking from the company to set up a generation complex worth $10 billion.
According to international media, if the oil discovery in Pakistan turns out to be as large as expected, the country would rank among the world’s top ten oil producing countries, ahead of Kuwait.
In Pakistan, ExxonMobil signed an agreement in May this year to take a 25-percent working interest in the Indus Block G offshore Pakistan, where the other partners in the block are Italy’s major Eni and Pakistan’s Government Holdings Pvt Ltd and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL).
Pakistan currently meets just 15 percent of its petroleum demand with domestic crude oil production, while 85 percent of its demand is met with imports. With the high imports, and the higher oil prices in recent months, Pakistan faces a large current account deficit and spends a substantial portion of its foreign exchange reserves on importing oil.
