ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday announced the results of its first offshore bidding round in nearly two decades, awarding 23 exploration blocks to four consortiums led by local energy companies in a renewed push to unlock the country’s untapped hydrocarbon reserves.
The Offshore Bid Round 2025, launched in January after an 18-year gap, attracted bids covering about 53,500 square kilometers of Pakistan’s offshore zone.
The Ministry of Energy said the outcome reflected “strong investor confidence” in the upstream sector following new production-sharing agreements and regulatory reforms designed to ensure transparency and competitiveness.
“A recent basin study conducted by the US firm DeGolyer and MacNaughton (D&M) has indicated a significant yet-to-find potential of hydrocarbons in Pakistan’s offshore basins,” the ministry said in a statement in which it announced receiving bids “for twenty-three (23) offshore blocks.”
The government said the round offered blocks across the Indus and Makran basins, aiming to spur systematic exploration after years of limited drilling activity.
