Pakistan, Türkiye sign pact on joint bidding for offshore oil and gas exploration

Türkiye and Pakistan signed an agreement Tuesday for jointly bidding for offshore oil and gas exploration across 40 blocks in the South Asian country.

The joint bidding agreement was signed on the margins of the 2025 Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum in the capital Islamabad, said a statement from Pakistan's Petroleum Ministry.

In February, the government of Pakistan announced a bidding round offering 40 offshore blocks in the Makran and Indus basins for the granting of exploration licenses, it added.

"This bid round is a significant opportunity for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's upstream energy sector," the statement said.

Pakistan's Mari Energies Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited and Pakistan Petroleum Limited signed the agreement with Turkish state-owned enterprise Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO) to jointly participate in the offshore bidding round.

"We believe that this strategic collaboration will bring much-needed FDI to Pakistan and pave the way for the sharing and deployment of international technologies, expertise and skillsets to explore and exploit the untapped potential of Pakistan's offshore region," the statement said.

Turkish Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar along with Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik witnessed the signing ceremony.

Expressing high hopes for Pakistan- Türkiye cooperation, Malik said that Islamabad is committed to providing "full support" and "strongly encourages" such collaborative efforts to explore its offshore reserves.

Bayraktar commended the holding of the minerals investment forum by Islamabad.