Pakistan expects Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO)’s seismic survey vessels to arrive in September or October as the Turkish state-owned company advances preparations for exploration activities under recently signed hydrocarbon agreements, Petroleum Minister Pervaiz Malik said on Saturday.
Speaking at the Türkiye-Pakistan Business Forum held in Istanbul, Malik said Pakistan continues to import significant volumes of LNG each year to meet its energy needs, while the country’s proven oil reserves stand at around 240 million barrels and daily oil production remains limited to about 65,000 barrels.
Emphasizing that energy demand is expected to rise rapidly as Pakistan moves onto a higher growth trajectory, Malik said, ” As the country pivots and focuses on building its manufacturing sector, we hope that energy intensity will continue to grow. This is the kind of opportunity that Pakistan’s hydrocarbon and energy sector offers to investors willing to investors willing to come to the country.”
Highlighting Pakistan’s largely untapped geological potential, Malik recalled that three of the 23 blocks awarded during the country’s first offshore licensing round in nearly 20 years in 2025 were secured by TPAO. He also noted that TPAO obtained two onshore exploration licenses during a separate bidding round held the same year.
Sharing an update on TPAO’s activities in the country, Malik said the company is continuing efforts to establish an office in Islamabad and that all visa facilitation has been completed.
“We expect TPAO’s seismic vessels to arrive on the shores of Pakistan in September or October. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and I will personally go and receive those vessels on Pakistan’s shores. We decided that yesterday, and we look forward to building this relationship further and eventually bringing in drilling vessels, six months after the completion of the seismic studies,” Malik said.
– Türkiye-Pakistan energy partnership deepens
Türkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Dec. 2, 2025, that TPAO would begin oil and natural gas exploration activities in three offshore and two onshore blocks in Pakistan in 2026 as part of efforts to increase bilateral trade volume between the two countries to $5 billion.
Under the initiative, hydrocarbon exploration and production agreements were signed between TPAO and Pakistan’s Mari Energies, Fatima, OGDCL, PPL, Prime and GHPL.
Bayraktar said oil and natural gas projects constitute the first phase of the Türkiye-Pakistan energy partnership, adding that new areas of cooperation in mining are also on the agenda.
Describing Pakistan as a country with substantial mineral wealth and resource potential, Bayraktar said Turkish state-owned mining companies, particularly MTAIC and Eti Maden, are expected to play a more active role in the country’s mining sector
