he Petroleum Division, with technical support from the World Bank, has prepared a roadmap to reform Pakistan's downstream gas sector by introducing a competitive market structure. The proposed reforms include the unbundling of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) into separate transmission, distribution, and gas trading businesses. The roadmap also envisages strengthening the regulatory framework, promoting private sector participation, rationalizing gas pricing mechanisms, and improving the financial sustainability of the gas sector. The reform package is expected to be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration as part of the government's broader energy sector reform agenda.

Mari Energies Limited has successfully completed Pakistan's first competitive third-party natural gas sale under the Framework for Sale of Gas to Third Parties. The company awarded up to 17.5 MMSCFD of gas from the Spinwam discovery in the Waziristan Block to Universal Gas Distribution Company (UGDC) through a competitive bidding process. The transaction marks the first practical implementation of the government's third-party gas sale framework, allowing eligible exploration and production companies to market a portion of gas from qualifying discoveries directly to private buyers. The initiative is expected to encourage upstream investment, improve gas commercialization, and contribute to the development of a more competitive domestic gas market.

Date: 5 August 2026 OGDCL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH) to jointly develop technologies for commercial lithium extraction from geothermal brines. The initiative follows OGDCL's recent discovery of high-grade lithium concentrations in geothermal brines at the Wahid Bakhsh Well in Khairpur, Sindh. The collaboration aims to assess the commercial viability of lithium extraction and support Pakistan's entry into the critical minerals sector. OGDCL also plans to evaluate additional geothermal wells to determine the country's broader lithium resource potential, contributing to future energy transition and mineral development initiatives.