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US-Pakistan Trade Deal: On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced that his government will collaborate with Pakistan to develop oil reserves. The US is searching for an oil company to lead this arrangement, the US president wrote on Truth Social.
From Trump's post, the US had negotiated a deal with Pakistan whereby Washington would collaborate with Islamabad in the development of the Asian nation's oil reserves.
"We just made a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, in which Pakistan and the United States will cooperate on the development of their enormous Oil Reserves," Trump said, without further explanation.
From 'Massive' to Meagre: Pakistan's Actual Oil Reserve Numbers
While even US President Donald Trump tweeted in a posting that the US has agreed to the development and exploration of "massive oil reserves" in Pakistan, the reality on the ground is that the border country has hardly any oil and gas deposits and fulfils 85 per cent of its need through imports.
As per Worldometer statistics, Pakistan has 353.5 million barrels of proven oil reserves as of 2016 and is ranked 52nd in the world and holds only 0.021 per cent of the world's total reserves.
Based on current consumption rates of around 556,000 barrels per day, these reserves would last for less than two years of domestic consumption if the nation does not import oil, as per Worldometer statistics.
Fuel Price Disparity: Pakistan vs India
Its daily oil output is roughly 70,000–80,000 barrels per day, which satisfies merely 15–20 per cent of its own requirement.
An Indian Oil Corporation official noted that the present petrol price in Pakistan is Rs 272.15 a litre, while high-speed diesel is Rs 284.35 a litre, which are over double the prices of the two products in India.
These are the highest rates in the world and indicate the high level of import dependence.
Whereas in India, the cost of petrol is about Rs 94.77 per litre, and diesel costs Rs 87.67 per litre (cost in Delhi, which has minor differences across states because of local taxes).
Challenges in Pakistan's oil exploration and refining sector
The rate of exploration success in Pakistan is low, and political, financial, and security issues are a cause of concern for investors, the Indian Oil official stated.
The refining capacity in Pakistan is also limited and old, he added. There's potential for some offshore and shale oil exploration (particularly in Balochistan and off Karachi), but the results have been so far inconclusive or commercially non-viable.
Maybe they'll be selling Oil to India one day!
On Truth Social, Trump posted that he had made a deal with Pakistan to assist it in development and oil reserve exploration. "We have just made a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, where Pakistan and the United States will partner together on developing their enormous Oil Reserves.
We are selecting the Oil Company which will helm this Partnership. Maybe they'll be selling Oil to India one day!" he posted on social media.
With Inputs from Agency
English (US) ·