Donald Trump says Pakistan could sell oil to India: What’s true, what’s missing, what’s hype

US president Donald Trump’s claim that Pakistan is sitting on “huge” oil reserves – and even exporting oil to India – raised widespread doubts.

Here is a collapse of what is known, what it is, and whether Trump’s confirmation carries any oil.

Q: What exactly what Trump said?
On Thursday, Trump announced that the United States will participate with Pakistan to develop its “huge” oil reserves. He added that Pakistan “Perhaps” will sell oil to India one day – a note that is widely seen as a blow to the constant dependence of India on the reduced Russian crude.

Q: Does Pakistan really have huge oil reserves?
According to global energy data, no. Fixed crude oil reserves in Pakistan range from 234 to 353 million barrels (Source: Databases of different oil reserves). In comparison, India has between 4.8 to 5 billion barrels, making its reserves about 14 times larger.

Globally, Pakistan ranks between 50 and 55, while India is in the early twenties of the last century.

Q: What about the production of the current oil?
Pakistan produces about 60,000 barrels per day, or about 580,000 barrels in India (Source: The annual statistical bulletin). Both countries depend greatly on oil imports to meet the demand for local energy.

Q: Where can Trump get his numbers?
Analysts believe that Trump may refer to the 2015 US Energy Information Administration report (EIA), which has estimated that Pakistan has 9.1 billion barrels of technically recovered rock oil resources, while India is estimated that India has 3.8 billion barrels.

However, these are not proven reserves. I also noticed the evaluation of the environmental impact clearly, these numbers are based on geological modeling – not actual exploration or excavation.

Q: What does “technically refundable” mean?
It refers to the theoretically extracted oil using current technology. According to EIA, only 3-7 % of oil rock oil in place can be usually recovered, with exceptional cases of 10 % and low 1 %.

Q: Is there a great exploration of oil in Pakistan?
Very little. Although there are media reports in Pakistan on potential discoveries, analysts note that these are based on investigative studies and office studies, not actual field exploration. So far, global oil specialties have largely avoided Pakistan due to economic, organizational and security concerns.

Q: Can Pakistan export oil to India?
Power analysts say it is very unlikely in the foreseeable future. The development of a life-based category oil industry will require billions of dollars in foreign investment, years of exploration, and the commercial production infrastructure-which all Pakistan currently lacks.

Q: Is there a political Musnad to comment Trump?
maybe. Trump is seen as a hidden criticism of the in -depth oil trade in India with Russia, which was a point of tension with the United States. This is also followed by the recent military skirmishes in India and Pakistan, where Trump claimed controversially he mediated the ceasefire – something that India denies.

Q: The bottom line – Can Pakistan become a major oil source?
It is not realistic, according to industry experts. Technically refundable estimates are not equivalent to commercial feasibility. Without major discoveries, continuous investment, and long bullets, the idea of becoming Pakistan is a source of regional oil – called alone to provide India – with great speculation.