OGDC awarded eight offshore exploration blocks

Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) has secured provisional rights to eight offshore blocks across the Indus and Makran basins as part of Pakistan’s October 2025 bid round.

OGDC has been granted provisional exploration rights for eight offshore hydrocarbon blocks under the Directorate General of Petroleum Concessions’ October 2025 bid round, the company disclosed on November 13.

Read More: PPL secures award of eight new blocks, two as operator

Under the awards, OGDC will operate two of the blocks in the Indus Offshore Basin — Bin Qasim South (2466-10) and Keti Bandar (2367-6) — each with a 32 % working interest. In other blocks, OGDC holds participation stakes ranging from 23 % to 30 %. These include Gharo Creek (30 %), Kochi Creek (30 %), Behr Block (30 %), Zarrar Block (24 %), Offshore Deep D (30 %), and Sapat Bandar (23 %).

According to statement issued by OGDCL, the blocks are located across the Indus and Makran offshore basins — historically under-explored frontier areas for Pakistan. According to Reuters, only 18 offshore wells have been drilled since 1947 in Pakistan’s offshore zone of approximately 300,000 km².

OGDC’s participation aligns with its stated strategy “to invest in its core business, accelerate exploratory activities, and augment hydrocarbon reserves balance.”

However, formalisation remains subject to execution of Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs), grant of Exploration Licences, and Joint Operating Agreements among the joint-venture partners.

This award comes at a time when Pakistan is seeking to reduce its dependence on imported gas and LNG, alongside efforts to revive domestic upstream production amid declining demand and curtailments. For domestic E&P players such as OGDC, these offshore opportunities offer a chance to replenish reserves and improve production growth prospects.

With committed upfront exploration investment referenced at around US$ 80 m over the first three years of the bid round and potential drilling investment spanning US$ 750 m-1 bn, the scale of the offering is substantial for Pakistan’s upstream sector.

For OGDC and its JV partners, the key near-term task will be to mobilize seismic surveys and rig-planning in these deep-water blocks, and to ensure the cost and risk parameters are managed well. In the longer term, successful discoveries in these frontier areas could materially bolster OGDC’s reserves base and support the national energy security agenda.

The development of OGDC’s offshore portfolio should thus be viewed in context of Pakistan’s broader upstream environment, where local producers have been constrained by curtailed indigenous gas output — including declines at major fields such as Sui, Nashpa, Tal and Qadirpur — and the need for fresh reserves has become acute.

As OGDC proceeds with its operator and non-operator positions in these eight blocks, the focus will shift to exploration milestones, partner alignment and fiscal regime clarity. The progress in these blocks may also affect OGDC’s earnings profile and the attractiveness of Pakistan’s upstream investment climate.