Pakistan plans artificial island to expand oil exploration: report

• A PPL official says the project is inspired by Abu Dhabi’s drilling.
• The company plans to complete construction of the island in February.
• PPL plans to drill up to 25 wells on the island.
  

Pakistan plans to build an artificial island off the coast of Sindh to boost its oil exploration work as the country seeks to maximize the use of its natural resources.

Islamabad has stepped up its drilling efforts after US President Donald Trump expressed interest in the country’s oil reserves and a recent study showed the presence of significant yet undiscovered hydrocarbons in offshore basins.

State-owned energy company Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), has now announced plans to build an island about 30 kilometers off the coast of Sindh near Sujawal, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Citing the company’s General Manager, Exploration and Core Business Development, Arshad Palekar, the publication said the launch pad would stand six feet tall, preventing high tides from disrupting 24-hour exploration operations.

Palekar, on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in Islamabad, said PPL was undertaking the project – a first for Pakistan – inspired by Abu Dhabi’s successful use of artificial islands for drilling.

The PPL official said construction work on the island will be completed in February, with work scheduled soon after.

The energy company plans to drill about 25 wells on the island, he added.

The report comes weeks after Pakistan awarded 23 offshore exploration blocks to four consortiums, comprising local and foreign companies.

The Energy Ministry announced on October 31 that the country had held its first such round of bidding in nearly two decades, awarding 23 of the 40 offshore blocks on offer, covering some 53,500 square kilometers.

In July, US President Trump said his administration had struck a deal with Pakistan where the two countries would work together to develop Islamabad’s “huge oil reserves”.

“We are in the process of selecting the oil company to lead this partnership,” he wrote in his post on Truth Social.