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Water Resources of Pakistan

Water plays a vital role in a country's economy. Although about 88 percent of water is
used in the agriculture sector, the industry, commerce and public health are also greatly affected
by the quantity and quality of the available water.
Water sector industry of Pakistan is the largest enterprise accounting for approximately
US$300 billion of infrastructural investment and contributing about US$16 billion annually to
the GDP of the country.

Water Resources
There are two types of major resources of water in Pakistan:
1. Natural
2. Artificial.

Natural resources include rainfall, rivers, glaciers, ponds, lakes, streams, Karez and
wells etc. whereas Artificial resources consist of the surface water from rainfall and rivers,
which is in excess of the requirements for irrigation and other uses, is stored in dams and
reservoirs. The water from these dams and reservoirs is not only used for irrigation and
supplying water for daily consumption, but also used for hydroelectric power generation.

Main issues and challenges in the water sector

The water sector in Pakistan faces numerous issues, with the most prominent being:
 Shortages of water due to inadequate storage facility;
 Mismanagement of water distribution, operation and maintenance of the irrigation
network;
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 Low productivity per unit of water;

 Non-adoption of efficient conservation technologies;
 Low irrigation efficiency;
 Water logging and salinity including disposal of saline drainage effluents;
 Non-participation of beneficiaries in project identification, development and
management;
 A lack of coordination among research and development agencies; and
 A lack of public awareness and education about water conservation.

Recommended Actions

In order to efficiently develop and manage water resources of Pakistan and to ensure
quality as well as availability of water to meet the growing needs across all sectors, there are a
number of actions that need to be taken, which are outlined below:

* Activation of Council of Common Interests (CCI): The Council of Common

Interests (CCI) that is a constitutional body should be constituted without any delay so that it
may play its role assigned in the constitution to resolve inter-provincial disputes especially those
relating to water.

* Parliament and Its Committees to be more Pro-Active: Parliamentarians should

play a more active role in developing a sustainable consensus on such vital national issues as
development of water resources.

* Water Conservation: A comprehensive plan for optimum conservation of water should be

prepared and put into action.

* Adoption of New Technologies: Feasibility study and pilot projects should be launched
to assess the sustainability of new and effective irrigation technologies in Pakistan.

* Forecasting of Floods & Droughts: Research needs to be undertaken for better

understanding and forecasting of floods and droughts and preparation of emergency plans.
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* Improving Domestic Water Quality: Improvement in the quality of domestic water in

urban as well as rural areas is required besides ensuring satisfactory drinking quality water for
the population.

* Checking Water Pollution: A system of effective check and control of pollution in all
water bodies is required.

Conclusion:

Since water resources in Pakistan are depleting they need to be managed properly. We should
consider water as a God gifted and valuable economic asset. We should conserve water for our
future generation and at the same time be aware of the present requirement.

Natural resources and economic development

Natural resources are an important source of national wealth around the world. It is an
important component of economic development of a country. Yet, experience shows that only
natural riches are neither necessary nor sufficient for economic prosperity and progress.
Resources, human capital and financial resources, all three are essential for progress of nations.
All three go hand in hand in national development.

What are Natural Resources?

"Natural resources can be referred to as substances that occur naturally and in most
cases are unmodified”. (Carolyn 2010)

The diversity of countries in terms of geographical, structural, cultural and regional

characteristics leads to a diversity in resources.
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Copper, tin, diamonds, oil, gas and gold are a few resources to name. Natural resources
can come in different disguise such as agriculture and fishing. The resources are categorized
either as renewable or non-renewable.

Natural Resources in Pakistan 2010

Natural resources, which form a major part of any country's economy, are divided mainly in to
three types in Pakistan. Namely:

1. Power resources
2. Sustainable natural resources
3. Metallic minerals and the non-metallic minerals.

The first category of natural resources is power resources, which are ready for consumption
only after they have gone through the processing stage. Such processes are inclusive of
procedures like refining, sterilization and even distillation.

Another category of natural resources are sustainable natural resources, which consist
mostly of raw materials that are used in the primary stages of the production process. Materials
(natural resources) such as timber or raw materials that are used in the manufacture of paper,
varnishes industries etc could be categorized in the realm of sustainable resources.

Last but not the least, the third category of natural resources constitutes the metallic
minerals and the non-metallic minerals. The metallic minerals are inclusive of metals like
gold, silver, iron and copper. As far the non-metallic minerals, these include gypsum, limestone,
marble china clay, sulphur and soapstone.

1. Pakistan Power Resources:

 Coal
 Natural gas
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 Mineral oil

Coal:
Coal currently plays a minor role in Pakistan’s energy mix. However, Pakistan contains
an estimated 3,362 million tons, sixth largest in the world.

We have huge reserves of coal in Pakistan. Government should take necessary steps for
its extraction at mass level to maximize its utilization. Apart from this, coal reserves can also be
used to produce electricity at cheap rates. Thus it can solve our problems of shortage of
electricity and will able to provide electricity at cheap rates!

Oil and Natural Gas Industry

Discovery

Pakistan's first oil field was discovered in the late 1952 in Baluchistan near a giant Sui
gas field. The Toot oil field was discovered in the early 1960s in the Punjab. Pakistan Petroleum
and Pakistan Oilfields explored and began drilling these fields with Soviet help in 1961 and
activity began in Toot during 1964.

Modern exploration

In 2005, the Vancouver-based International Sovereign Energy signed a memorandum of

understanding with the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan's national oil
company, to develop the Toot field.
The company is also providing electricity to locals living around the residential camps of
Toot oil field and the neighboring Missa Keswaal oil field.
Baluchistan comprises more than 40 percent of Pakistan's land mass, possesses important
reserves of oil and natural gas as well as extensive mineral resources. According to the Oil and
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Gas Journal (OGJ), Pakistan had proven oil reserves of 300 million barrels, most of which are
located in Baluchistan.

Natural Gas

Natural gas is a source of wealth for Pakistan. It is a clean fuel, there is a large market
and given the country’s extensive use of fuel oil, the economic benefits of conversion from liquid
fuels to natural gas are high.

The gas industry has been developing rapidly since the 1950s, following the discovery of
the large Sui field in Baluchistan and the construction of the first pipeline to Karachi.
Moreover, certain potential areas (such as Western Baluchistan and the offshore) have been
explored very little or not at all.

Unlike crude oil which is an internationally traded commodity, natural gas has to be sold
in most cases to the domestic market, and such is the case of Pakistan. This raises a number of
issues from the investors’ point of view, including access to the market, the ability of the off
taker to pay for the gas, and the ability of the host country to convert local currency into foreign
exchange.

Uses:

 Natural gas is a major source of electricity generation through the use of gas turbines and
steam turbines. Natural gas burns more cleanly than other fossil fuels, such as oil and
coal, and produces less carbon dioxide per unit energy released.
 Natural gas is supplied to homes where it is used for such purposes as cooking in natural
gas-powered ranges and ovens, natural gas-heated clothes dryers, heating/cooling and
central heating.
 Compressed natural gas (methane) is a cleaner alternative to other automobile fuels such
as gasoline (petrol) and diesel.
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 Natural gas is a major feedstock for the production of ammonia, via the Haber process,
for use in fertilizer production.
 Natural gas can be used to produce hydrogen, with one common method being the
hydrogen reformer.
 Natural gas is also used in the manufacture of fabrics, glass, steel, plastics, paint, and
other products.
 Natural gas is used to generate electricity.

Oil and Gas Sector and the Economy

Petroleum products and natural gas account for about 80 percent of commercial energy
use, hydroelectricity for about 15 percent, and coal and liquefied petroleum gas(LPG) for the
balance. Proven oil reserves are relatively small (300million barrels).
There is scope for a significant increase in gas production. The shares of hydroelectricity
and coal are low, notwithstanding the country’s large hydropower potential, and substantial coal
deposits which have been discovered in Sindh province.
Oil fields and refineries all over Pakistan provide mineral oil for energy requirement and
it comprises the major energy resources of Pakistan. Recently rising oil prices have a devastating
effect on the economy let us review the reasons and effects

Reasons &Effect of High Oil Prices in Pakistan:

Global oil prices have shown an almost steady rise since 2003. In 2006 the price doubled
than that was in 2004 and it has been increasing since then. Demand, supply and speculative
factors, and their interrelationships are an important impact factors. Following are some other
reasons:

Reasons:
•Economic strengthening in the US
•Strong economic performance in developing Asia
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•1990 to 2003 world demand for oil grew at the rate of 1.3%.
•Some of the countries in Asia have started building their own reserves.

Effects:
 Balance of Payment Effect
 Fiscal Impact
 Industries
 Agricultures
 Transportation
 Common People
 Agriculture
 Transportation

Future Refinery Projects

There are several projects that the government of Pakistan is undertaking to meet the
increasing oil product demand of the country .A few of which are explained below:

Pak-Iran Refinery Project

As refinery products are not fulfilling the countries demand so Government of Pakistan is
planning new Refinery projects one of them is Pak-Iran Refinery project. The governments of
both countries are discussing over possible construction of six million tons coking refinery close
to Hub near Karachi. It will be able to process the

Khalifa Coastal refinery (KCR)

An investment company of United Arab Emirates have planned to establish an oil
refinery in coastal area of Baluchistan named Khalifa Coastal Refinery (KCR). Till now this will
be largest investment in oil and gas sector in Pakistan.

Conclusion:
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Import of the crude oil and oil based product put a lot of burden on the country’s economy.
There are currently five major oil refineries operating in the country which are not able to fulfill
the demand requirements, hence the government should take some vital steps in policy matters
so that it can attract more foreign investors. Government policy of using the locally available
crude at any cost should be techno economically evaluated before taking any final decision.
Refineries should be taken into confidence before finalization of any crude oil import.

2. MINERALS OF PAKISTAN

Pakistan is endowed with significant mineral resources and emerging as a very promising
area for exploration of mineral deposits. Based on available information, country’s more than 6,
00,000sq.kms of outcrop area demonstrates varied geological potential for metallic / non-
metallic mineral deposits. There is a great potential in Pakistan in the metallic minerals like
copper, gold, silver, platinum, chromites, iron, lead and zinc currently about 52 minerals are
under exploitation although on small scale. Let’s have a look at them

Iron ore:
More than 903.4 million tons of iron ores are found in Pakistan and potential ore deposits
in many areas of Pakistan in the areas of Punjab. In NWFP is one of the new areas of iron ore
centers of Pakistan.

Economic Benefits of Iron Ores

 Import substitutions.
 Indigenization of technology
 Relatively cheaper steel available for export and for use in the local market for
construction, manufacturing, engineering and automobile sector.

Copper:
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The significance of copper resources of Pakistan is widely known because of huge
investment made in development of Saindak copper deposit. Copper reserves are found in
Pakistan district Chaghi of Baluchistan and Saindak Copper Deposit Baluchistan.

Economic Benefits of Copper

 Import substitution
 Indigenization of technology
 Relatively cheaper copper available for export and for use in the local market for
engineering and electrical cables.

Chromite Ore.
Chromites occurrence is wide- spread yet its potential is far from being fully assessed
judging from the favorable geological environment.

Potential Deposits
i) Baluchistan Chromite Deposits

ii) NWFP Chromite Deposits

Economic Benefits of Chromite Ore

 Import substitution
 Raw material for production of ferroalloys
 Production of Stainless steel.

Salt:
Pakistan has vast deposits of salt. One of the huge deposits of Pakistan and the world are
found in the Khewra mines some of the salt deposits are also found in NWFP. Pakistan is not
only self sufficient in salt production but also exports large amount of salt worldwide.
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Limestone for Lime

Pakistan is bestowed with extensive deposits of suitable quality of limestone in the
provinces of NWFP, Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, and Northern Areas. The average annual
production of limestone is 8697 Metric tons used mainly in the manufacture of cement. Road
making, building construction and the chemical industries.

Gold And Silver:

Gold and silver are fond in the very small quantities in our country. Some gold is also
extracted from the sand of Indus River. New potentials are in the process of discovery.