Pakistan's state oil company signs a deal with a Canadian firm to lift domestic heavy crude output

Pakistan's state owned Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) said on Tuesday 4 August 2026 that it had signed an agreement with Canada's Synergetic Oil Tools Inc to deploy advanced Passive Energy Tool technology at heavy crude oil fields. The company said the technology is designed to improve flow assurance in highly viscous crude oil wells by optimising fluid characteristics, reducing the frequency of workovers, minimising well downtime, lowering operating costs and decreasing the use of production chemicals.

OGDC holds the largest exploration acreage in Pakistan and has the country's highest oil and gas reserves, producing about 166,497 barrels of oil equivalent per day. That output is nearly 49% of domestic crude oil production, 28% of Pakistan's natural gas and 34% of its liquefied petroleum gas. Key fields under its management include Qadirpur, Nashpa, Mela, KPD-TAY and Bettani.

Islamabad has been scrambling for oil supply since the Iran war began, and is seeking to raise domestic crude output to reduce its reliance on imports. It is also encouraging Persian Gulf producers to set up crude reserve buffers at a planned Energy City near one of its ports. Pakistan is one of Iran's trading neighbours, and the shape of its energy supply bears on cross border commerce between the two countries.