TRADE SHENANIGANS

Islamabad relies heavily on China for military equipment and must consider Beijing’s response if the US pursues oil exploration in Pakistan

- Dhurjati Mukherjee

American President Donald Trump’s reference to Pakistan’s massive oil reserves sounds like a manoeuvrefar from realism. “We have just concluded a deal with the country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves,” President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership,” he added.

Various estimates peg Pakistan’s proven reserves of conventional oil at 0.2 billion barrels and natural gas at 529.5 billion cubic metres. These appear modest when compared to India, which, at last count, was estimated to have oil reserves of about 4.8 billion barrels and natural gas of 1149 billion cubic metres. Pakistan’s domestic production, meeting 15 to 18% of oil and about 60% gas demand, has remained modest as exploration efforts yielded incremental discoveries.