Pakistan Must Upgrade Oil Refineries and Boost Domestic Production to Achieve Energy Self-Sufficiency: Saif Ur Rehman

*LAHORE, October 25:* Coordinator to the Federal Tax Ombudsman, Saif Ur Rehman, has stressed the need to modernise Pakistan’s oil refineries along advanced scientific and technological lines to enhance their capacity to produce refined petroleum products required by modern industries.

Talking to a delegation of petroleum dealers here on Sunday, he said the refining sector offered significant investment potential, and every effort should be made to attract both local and foreign investment for establishing modern refineries capable of meeting domestic petroleum requirements.

He said accelerating oil and gas exploration and production could reduce Pakistan’s vulnerability to global supply disruptions and help the country move towards energy self-sufficiency. Refining crude oil and producing petroleum products were critical components of national energy security.

Saif Ur Rehman emphasised that oil and gas companies needed to adopt modern technological and innovative practices in drilling and production. He called for greater use of horizontal development wells instead of conventional vertical wells and the application of hydraulic fracturing technology to improve hydrocarbon recovery.

He said Pakistan’s nine oilfields held approximately 124 million barrels of remaining oil reserves, while 28 gas fields contained an estimated 13.5 trillion cubic feet of remaining gas reserves. He stressed the need to increase indigenous production by drilling additional wells wherever economically and technically feasible.

He observed that uncertain global energy supplies required urgent and extraordinary measures rather than waiting for international political conditions to normalise.

The coordinator said Pakistan’s petroleum exploration and production (E&P) industry had performed remarkably well despite significant challenges, particularly the high costs associated with drilling and exploration.

He urged exploration and production companies to take the lead under the prevailing circumstances, utilise their strong financial positions and rapidly maximise output from existing reserves to help address the global oil crisis.

Saif Ur Rehman said rising petrol prices were already placing an additional burden on households and the national economy. He pointed out that Pakistan’s domestic production of approximately 68,000 barrels of crude oil and 2.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day met only around 16 percent of the country’s oil demand and 71 percent of its gas requirements, respectively.

The remaining requirements were met through imports, largely sourced from the Persian Gulf, putting additional pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

He concluded that increasing domestic oil and gas production, modernising refineries and encouraging investment in exploration and production were essential steps towards reducing import dependence, conserving foreign exchange and strengthening Pakistan’s long-term energy security.