According to the

United States Energy Information Administration The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and publ ...

(EIA),

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

may have over of

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

oil and in

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

(including

shale gas Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and some a ...

) reserves. As per BP' Sitatistical Review of World Energy 2016, at the end of 2015 Pakistan had the following proved reserves of fuels: 0.5 Trillion cu m of natural gas and 2.07 Billion tons of coal (sub-bituminous and lignite).

Oil industry

Discovery

's first

gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

was found in late 1952 in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

near the giant

Sui gas field Sui Gas Field is a natural gas field near Sui in Balochistan Province, Pakistan that is operated by Pakistan Petroleum Limited. Sui gas field was discovered in 1952, its current production is per day at standard conditions.https://www.ppl.com.p ...

. The Toot oilfield was not discovered until the early 1960s in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. It covers .

Pakistan Petroleum Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani state-owned petroleum company. It was incorporated on 5 June 1950, when it inherited the assets and liabilities of the Burmah Oil Company Ltd. which initially holds 70% of the share with t ...

and

Pakistan Oilfields The Pakistan Oilfields Limited ( ur, ) is a Pakistani oil and gas exploration company which is a subsidiary of UK-domiciled Attock Oil Company. It is based in Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, Pakistan. In 1978, Pakistan Oilfields took over the e ...

explored and began drilling these fields with Soviet help in 1961 and activity began in the Toot oilfield during 1964.

History

The Toot area is one of the oldest oil producing regions in Pakistan with the first oilwell drilled in 1964 when

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

encouraged a mineral development policy. It is located in the

Khaur Khaur is a town and union council in Pindigheb Tehsil of Attock District in Punjab Province of Pakistan. Community The major tribes of town are Muradiya(مرادیا)٫ Kahut, Chauhan, Zeldar, Awan, Budhwaal and Shipraal while main language ...

, Punjab Province, which is located approximately 135 km southwest of the capital city of

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. In 1964 the first well was drilled and commercial production started in 1967. There are about 60 million barrels of oil in place of which 12%-15% is recoverable. At its peak during 1986, the field was producing approximately 2,400 barrel of oil per day.lar It has grown steadily since then, producing both oil and, to a lesser degree, natural gas. Oil production was entirely confined to the Potwar Plateau till 1981, when Union Texas Pakistan subsidiary discovered its first oil-field in Lower

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. By 1998-1999, the Lower Sindh gas-fields were producing more oil than the Potohar Plateau. Since then, new deposits have also been found here.

Modern exploration

In 2005, the Vancouver-based 'International Sovereign Energy' signed a memorandum of understanding with the

Oil and Gas Development Company Limited Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, commonly known as OGDCL ( ur, شرکتِ محدود برائے ترقیاتِ گیس و تیل) is a Pakistani oil and gas company. It has a primary listing on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, and secondary ...

, Pakistan's national oil company, to develop the Toot field. Schlumberger Oilfield Services first started operations in early 2006. After favorable results, the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

based 'Junior oil' and International 'Sovereign Energy Corp'.

Oil and gas exploration Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology. Exploration methods Vis ...

companies signed a memorandum of agreement with the

, Pakistan's national oil company, in mid-2005, to develop the Toot field in Punjab Province, near the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

of Islamabad. The company is also providing electricity to locals living around the residential camps of Toot oil field and the neighbouring Missa Keswaal oil field.

Petroleum refining

The crude oil that is produced in Pakistan gets refined at home at five oil refineries which are Cnergyico Pk Limited, Pak-Arab Refinery Company Limited ( PARCO), Pakistan Refinery Limited, Attock Refinery Limited, and National Refinery Limited. The combined processing capacity of these five refineries is roughly 420,000 barrels per day. Cnergyico Pk Limited is Pakistan's largest oil refiner with intalled processing capacity of 156,000 barrels per day, accounting for around 37% of Pakistan's total oil refining capacity.

Natural gas industry

Natural gas production is at a relatively high level and remaining reserves are estimated to be about 885.3 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.). Pakistan's

s are only expected to last for about another 20 years at the most due to heavy industrial usage. The Largest Gas Producing province of Pakistan is

. The Sui gas field is the biggest natural gas field in

. It is located near Sui in

. The gas field was discovered in the late 1952 and the commercial exploitation of the field began in 1955. Sui gas field accounts for 6% of Pakistan's gas production. Remaining reserves are estimated to be at about 800 billion cubic feet (tcf) and the daily production is around of natural. The operator of the field is

Pakistan Petroleum Limited Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani state-owned petroleum company. It was incorporated on 5 June 1950, when it inherited the assets and liabilities of the Burmah Oil Company Ltd. which initially holds 70% of the share with ...

Coal industry

History

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

was first discovered across

and the rest of South Asia in the 1880s and was used by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-owned

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

companies under

colonial rule Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

. Later,

post-colonial Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...

had used coal to fuel its industry from independence to the discovery of the

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

in 1952 and the Toot oilfield in 1964. Environmentalists are now concerned that Pakistan has recently discovered one low and four low to medium quality

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

seams in the

and plans to re-fuel its economically important cement industry with it after their oil fields have run dry. Low

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

coal was recently reported to have been found at the

near

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

as well. There are reports that low a sulfur deposit has been found near Islamabad.

Thar desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is an arid region in the north-western part of the Indian subcontinent, Subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's Li ...

lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

mines will also be expanded soon for industrial usage too. This Thar's mine is open-cut mine. These mines are relatively safer to mine from. While Baluchistan's mines are underground mines, these are dangerous to mine from. Pakistan Baluchistan's mines have seen several accidents over the years among which the one which happened in 2011 was with the greatest number of casualties. According to one news paper the death toll rose up to 45, though majority agree upon that it ranged from 40-45 people. Special measures are being employed to reduce the resulting

fly ash Fly ash, flue ash, coal ash, or pulverised fuel ash (in the UK) plurale tantum: coal combustion residuals (CCRs)is a coal combustion product that is composed of the particulates (fine particles of burned fuel) that are driven out of coal-fired ...

carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...

and

sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

fume emission problems after it is burnt.

Types of coal found

Bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...

is a relatively hard and less

ous coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen and would be burnt largely on domestic fires after being turned into coke fuel.

Sub-bituminous coal Sub-bituminous coal is a lower grade of coal that contains 35–45% carbon. The properties of this type are between those of lignite, the lowest grade of coal, and those of bituminous coal, the second-highest grade of coal. Sub-bituminous coal i ...

is a coal whose properties range from those of lignite to those of bituminous coal and is used primarily as fuel for steam-electric power generation. It is set to fuel

power stations A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

and cement works in

Lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

is a low-grade, sulfurous coal that is generally used in modified industrial furnaces to generate heat for boilers, coke oven heaters, brick kilns, etc. However it can be converted to a substitute for crude oil through the

Fischer Tropsch Fischer is a German occupational surname, meaning fisherman. The name Fischer is the fourth most common German surname. The English version is Fisher. People with the surname A * Abraham Fischer (1850–1913) South African public official * Ad ...

technology. There are discussions on setting up a plant with Shenhua Ningxia Coal of China.

Workings

Musakhel Balochistan (Kingri-Aram-Safa Coal fields) *Location- 175 km from Multan and 290 km from Quetta *Types of Coal- Sub-bituminous to Bituminous and Lignite *Total Coal Reserves- 17.5 Millions *Production- 56,009 Tons Lakhara *Location-176 km north of Karachi, 65 km northwest of Hyderabad *Type of Coal-Sub-bituminous to lignite *Total coal resources- 38.82 million tons *Production- (2003–04) 217,967 tons Dengari *Location- 35 km south-east of Quetta *Type of Coal- Sub-bituminous-A to high volatile B-bituminous *Total coal resources- 15.42 million tonnes *Production- (2003–04) 15,043 tons Sor-range *Location - 16 km east of Quetta *Type of Coal- Sub-bituminous-A to high volatile B-bituminous *Total coal resources- 12.95 million tonnes *Production- (2003–04) 56,132 tons Nowshera (Shaidu, Khawrai, Pethawo area) *oil and gas resources available Shahrig *Coal field location- 160 km north-east of Quetta *Type of Coal- Sub Bituminous B to heavy volatile Bituminous-A *Total coal resources- 28.97 million tonnes *Production- (2003–04) 94,583 tons Sonda *Coal field location- Near to Quetta *Type of Coal- Sub Bituminous B to heavy volatile Bituminous-A *Total coal resources- N/A. *Production- (2003–04) N/A.

Lignite industry

Production

and

mines in Kingri

will also be expanded soon for industrial usage. Special measures are being employed to reduce the resulting

, carbon footprint and sulphur fume emission problems after it is burnt. However it can be converted to a substitute for crude oil through the

technology. There are discussions on setting up a

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

with

Shenhua Group Shenhua Group Corporation Limited was a Chinese state-owned mining and energy company. Shenhua Group was founded in October 1995 under the auspices of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It was the largest coal-producing compan ...

of China. The Lignite/ Brown Coal of Kingri Coal fields in percentage from 44 - 79 % use in formation of Humic Acid. Usage is in high quantity. Lignite can also be a source of fertilizer and soil conditioner.

Usage

is a low grade, sulphurous coal that is generally used in modified industrial furnaces to generate heat for boilers, coke oven heaters, brick kilns, etc. However it can be converted to a substitute for crude oil through the

technology. There are discussions on setting up a

with

of China. Nowadays

use in humic Acid formation from last three years especially of

Kingri Kingri ( sd, ڪنگري) is a Tehsil of Khairpur District in the Sindh province of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most pop ...

Area of Balochistan

Uranium production

History

Pakistan has had a long history of exporting small amounts of

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

to the West. The Tumman Leghari mine in South

, Baghalchur

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

, Dera Ghazi Khan mine and Issa Khel / Kubul Kel mines in

Mianwali District The Mianwali District ( ur, ), is a district located in Sargodha Division of Punjab province, Pakistan. It was separated from NWFP in 1901, and has a border with the Chakwal, Attock,Kohat, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Bhakkar, an ...

. Pakistan has recently used some in its own

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

and

weapons A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

programs.

Mines

The Wahi Pandi, Karunuk (

Sehwan Sehwan ( sd, سيوهڻ شريف, ur, ; also commonly referred to as Sehwan Sharif or ''Noble Sehwan'') is a historic city located in Jamshoro District of Sindh province in Pakistan and on the west bank of the Indus north-west of Hyderabad. The ...

), and Rehman Dhora ( Aamri) mines in the,

Kirthar Range The Kirthar Mountains ( ur, كوه کھیرتھر; sd, کير ٿر جبل) are a mountain range that mark the boundary between the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, and which comprise much of the Kirthar National Park. The mountain ...

and the Shanawah Deposit,

Karak Karak may refer to: Places * Al-Karak or Kerak, city and Crusader castle in Jordan ** Karak Governorate, Jordan * al-Karak, Syria, city in Syria's Daraa Governorate * Karak Nuh, village in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon * Karak, Iran (disambiguation) ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

province are being opened up to meet

's rising need for uranium, which these sources are issuing at an

ore grade Ore is natural Rock (geology), rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Ret ...

: 0.04%

Uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

mineral purity rate. The

Baghalchur Baghalchur or Baghal Chor ( ur, بغلچور) is a village in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) has allegedly used the area, originally the site of Uranium mines, as a nuclear dump. The reside ...

site has several abandoned mines and is now being used as an industrial dumping ground.

is a small town in

Dera Ghazi Khan District Dera Ghazi Khan (Urdu and pnb, , Saraiki: , bal, ڈیرہ غازی خان) is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its capital is the town of Dera Ghazi Khan. Most of its inhabitants are Saraikis and Baloch. The district lies to ...

. Baghalchur is the site of abandoned

mines now being used as a nuclear dump. The residents of the area along with several Pakistani environmentalist groups are opposed to the nuclear dump being used by

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) (Urdu: ) is a federally funded independent governmental agency, concerned with research and development of nuclear power, promotion of nuclear science, energy conservation and the peaceful usage of nucl ...

(PAEC), and have asked the government to invest in better techniques in the disposal of nuclear waste materials.

Output

Pakistan produced about 45 tonnes of uranium in 2006.

References

External links

Map of the oil and gas infrastructure in Pakistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuel Extraction In Pakistan Fossil fuels in Pakistan Oil fields of Pakistan Oil and gas companies of Pakistan

Oil industry

Discovery

History

Modern exploration

Petroleum refining

Natural gas industry

Coal industry

History

Types of coal found

Workings

Lignite industry

Production

Usage

Uranium production

History

Mines

Output

See also

References

External links