Pakistan's 10 key gas fields hold 10.6 TCF in recoverable reserves

ISLAMABAD, Nov 01 (APP):Pakistan's 10 major gas fields hold 10.605 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of remaining recoverable reserves, while its 10 largest oil fields contain 105 million barrels, according to official data presented in the National Assembly, highlighting the country's existing hydrocarbon potential and the government's efforts to boost domestic exploration and production. The data, provided by the Petroleum Division and available with Wealth Pakistan, shows that the 10 major gas fields had combined original recoverable reserves of 43.358 TCF, of which 32.753 TCF had been extracted by June 30, 2026. Mari HRL in Ghotki district holds the largest remaining recoverable gas reserves at 2.777 TCF, followed by Uch in Dera Bugti with 2.551 TCF. Kandara in Sukkur has 1.858 TCF of remaining reserves, while Mari Ghazij in Ghotki holds 1.723 TCF. Sui, one of the country's oldest and major gas-producing fields, has 621 billion cubic feet (BCF) of remaining recoverable reserves against original recoverable reserves of 12.655 TCF. Its cumulative production had reached 12.034 TCF by June 30, 2026. Other major gas fields include Qadirpur in Ghotki with 603 BCF of remaining reserves, Kandhkot in Kashmore with 355 BCF, Sawan in Khairpur with 83 BCF, Bhit in Dadu with 23 BCF and Zamzama in Dadu with 11 BCF. The 10 major oil fields, meanwhile, had combined original recoverable reserves of 567 million barrels, of which 462 million barrels had been produced, leaving 105 million barrels available for recovery. Bargzai in Kohat district leads with 49 million barrels of remaining recoverable oil reserves, followed by Pashaki/Pashaki North in Hyderabad with 11 million barrels. Nashpa in Karak, Adhi in Rawalpindi and Dhurnal in Attock each hold around nine million barrels of remaining recoverable reserves. Other oil fields include Kumar in Hyderabad with eight million barrels, Makori East in Karak with six million barrels, Balkassar in Chakwal with two million barrels and Meyal in Attock with one million barrels. Dhokian in Attock has no remaining recoverable reserves recorded in the document. To strengthen domestic hydrocarbon supplies and reverse the decline in indigenous production, the Petroleum Division has outlined a series of policy and exploration measures aimed at attracting investment and accelerating the development of new reserves. An offshore exploration bidding round was held in October 2026 after a gap of nearly two decades, resulting in the award of 23 exploration blocks to local and foreign oil and gas companies. The government has also conducted five onshore bidding rounds over the past three years, awarding 46 blocks for exploration and production activities. A comprehensive high-resolution basin study is also underway to assess the country's hydrocarbon potential and identify new prospects for exploration and development. On the policy front, the Council of Common Interests approved the Tight Gas Policy 2024 in February 2024, introducing additional pricing incentives compared with those offered under the Petroleum Policy 2012. Amendments to the Petroleum Policy 2012 have also introduced incentives for exploration and production companies, including the option to convert to the revised policy, access Zone-I(F) incentives for existing licence holders and extensions of lease periods until commercial production. Under the third-party gas sale regime, exploration and production companies have been permitted to sell up to 35 per cent of gas from new discoveries to third parties through competitive bidding, providing an additional avenue for monetising domestic resources. The measures have also translated into increased exploration activity during FY2025-26, when oil and gas companies drilled 58 exploratory and development wells, resulting in 18 discoveries. The reserves replacement ratio stood at 2.64 for oil and 1.95 for gas, indicating that additions to recoverable reserves exceeded the quantities produced during the year. The exploration and production activities also added around 300 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and 16,000 barrels per day of crude oil to the country's domestic production system during the financial year.