Pakistan's Shale Initiative Yet to Take Off

Pakistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has failed to initiate any research on exploring shale gas reservoirs in the country, which according to rough estimates stand at 51 trillion cubic feet per day (TCF). 

A report in Business Recorder says that the government is still working on the shale gas policy and wants to attract local as well as foreign investment to encourage investment in developing domestic shale gas.

The government has in January approved a new exploration policy with improved incentives as compared to the 2009 policy. 

Even offering higher prices for shale and tight gas to the exploration companies, it is estimated that Pakistan would pay a maximum of dollars 6.5/Btu for gas compared with dollars 11/mmbtu for imported gas from Iran and dollars 13/mmbtu from Turkmenistan and dollars 18/mmbtu of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the report said. 

Pakistan Petroleum has invited fresh bids to auction licences to explore and develop several blocks in Dera Ismail Khan in KPK, and Badin, Naushero Firoz and Jungshahi districts in Sindh, with huge shale and tight gas reservoirs.