Pakistan has enough oil, gas reserves for next 50 years: ex-president ICCI

ISLAMABAD: Former president of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Dr Shahid Rasheed Butt has said Pakistan has enough oil and gas for all its needs for the next 50 years.

Pakistan has coal reserves that are enough to satisfy the needs of the country for the next few hundred years, which should be utilised as majority of local companies are still relying on imported coal, he said.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Butt said incentives should be announced for foreign oil and gas exploration companies to reduce dependence on fuel imports and ensure energy security.

The foreign companies, which have been forced to leave the country, should be called back with all kinds of assurances and good incentives so that the energy situation in the country can be improved, he added.

He informed that apart from coal, the oil and gas import bill is on the rise, resulting in massive deficits which cannot be repaid without loans. The ICCI former president said according to a report by the US Energy Information Administration, Pakistan has gas for the next 53 years and petroleum reserves for the next 50 years but instead of extracting it, we are spending billions to import fossil fuel.

Pakistan needs at least 30 billion dollars in 12 months to pay off debts and liabilities but the government does not have the money and the country's economy lacks the capacity to repay loans, he said and added fresh borrowing was needed to repay the old debts.