PPL denies ‘artificial island’ construction plan, says work limited to safe drilling rig

• PPL says the activity is aimed at ensuring safe drilling operations at Sirani.
• The company describes the initiative as the first drilling effort in such terrain.
• “The exploratory well is scheduled to be drilled in March 2026.”

KARACHI: State energy company Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) on Thursday dismissed reports that it was reclaiming land from the sea to build an artificial island for oil and gas exploration, saying the project only involved preparatory work to enable drilling in a difficult swamp.

A day earlier, Bloomberg reported that PPL is reclaiming land from the sea to create a launch pad to boost oil and gas exploration.

The agency quoted PPL’s ​​General Manager of Exploration and Core Business Development, Arshad Palekar, as saying that an artificial island will be created about 30 kilometers off the coast of Sindh, near Sujawal.

In official clarification, a copy of which is available with Geo.tvthe company said recent coverage about “reclaiming land from the sea to build an artificial island” was “misleading and does not fully reflect the technical scope and design of the project”.

PPL said the ongoing activity was aimed at ensuring safe and stable drilling operations in the tide-affected Sirani Block near Sujawal – an area that has remained largely unexplored due to severe accessibility and operational constraints.

“Ongoing activities relate to enabling safe drilling operations in a challenging marshy environment, despite the development of a self-contained offshore island,” the company said.

Describing it as one of Pakistan’s first attempts to drill in such terrain, PPL said it had already completed 2D and 3D seismic surveys using specialized transition zone equipment.

“Construction work is currently underway to facilitate the drilling, including loading and unloading jetties and an access road connecting the jetty to the well site,” he added.

Given the marshy subsoil and tidal conditions, both the access road and the well have been raised approximately nine feet. “This is necessary to ensure business continuity and mitigate the effects of low and high tides,” the clarification reads.

“The well site is located almost 30 km from the mainland. A 17 km long natural water channel will be used to transport components and material via barges between the jetties, according to the company. The exploratory well is scheduled for March 2026,” the company concluded.

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.

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.