China Eyes Pakistani Oil, Gas Sector

Chinese energy firms have expressed interest in investing in Pakistani oil and gas sector, Pakistan’s oil ministry said in a statement.

The topic was discussed by the representatives from private and public sector oil and gas companies of China who participated in the workshop on Pakistan-China cooperation in the field of oil and gas sector held in Islamabad on Wednesday.

This was the first workshop between the two countries on oil and gas sector wherein both sides agreed to foster bi-lateral cooperation in the petroleum sector, the ministry said.

The workshop was informed that Pakistan is endowed with an estimated 160 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas reserves including 105 TCF of shale gas reserves.

It was reported earlier this year that China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) will soon begin laying 700 km Gwadar-Nawabshah gas pipeline in Pakistan on government to government basis. CPP would bring the required capital of $1.5 billion and will also construct the LNG terminal in Gwadar, costing $800 million. The terminal, which is likely to be offshore, will have a capacity of 500 mmcfd of LNG.