Former U.S. President Donald Trump announced a plan for the United States to partner with Pakistan to develop Pakistan’s “massive” oil reserves, a declaration that was met with surprise and skepticism in Pakistan due to a history of unsuccessful exploration.

• The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) suggests Pakistan may hold as much as 9.1 billion barrels of recoverable oil, though confirmed deposits are much smaller.
• Energy analyst Afia Malik cautioned that Pakistan's oil reserves remain unproven, and she cited "red tape, political interference, and bureaucratic inefficiencies" as deterrents to foreign investment.
• Pakistan produced fewer than 100,000 barrels of oil per day in 2023, and its most ambitious exploration effort in 2019, involving ExxonMobil, found no oil or gas.