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Officials say Pakistan has already consumed 80% of its discovered oil reserves – SUCH TV
Pakistan is facing a significant decline in its oil reserves, highlighting the urgent need for new discoveries to ensure the country’s energy security and economic stability.
According to the Auditor General of Pakistan, the nation has recorded a total of 1,234 million barrels of discovered oil reserves, of which 80 percent has already been consumed.
Provincial data indicates that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 94.24 million barrels, Sindh 78.98 million barrels, Punjab 74.23 million barrels, while Balochistan holds only 1.6 million barrels of discovered oil reserves remaining.
Pakistan’s current production capacity stands at 60,000 barrels per day, which experts believe could be significantly increased with new discoveries.
The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) is actively working to attract international exploration companies to accelerate efforts in identifying new oil reserves in the country.
Despite the depletion of discovered reserves, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that Pakistan still possesses around 9.1 billion barrels of untapped oil resources.
However, the country’s energy demand is projected to grow from 2.23 billion barrels in 2030 to 3.35 billion barrels, increasing the urgency for exploration.
Officials say that tapping new reserves with international assistance could be a game-changer for Pakistan’s economy, ensuring long-term energy security and reducing reliance on imports.
Earlier, the Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) had announced a new oil discovery at the Chakrun-1 exploratory well in Chakar–one, Oil Field in Tando Allah Yar, Sindh.
According to OGDCL official statement, the discovery was made under the Tando Allah Yar Exploration License, with OGDCL holding a 95% operating interest and Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL) as a 5% carried-interest partner.
Drilling at the Chakar–one well began on June 2, 2025, and reached a total depth of 1,926 meters into the Upper Shale of the Lower Goru Formation, according to the OGDCL statement.
Following wireline log interpretation and Reservoir Evaluation Services (RES) data analysis, a Drill Stem Test (DST) was conducted in the B-Sand formation, with further testing using an Electrical Submersible Pump (ESP).
The well demonstrated a flow rate of 275 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) through a 32/64-inch choke at a wellhead flowing pressure of 400 psi.
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UniQure needs to run another study to prove that its gene therapy “actually helps people with Huntington’s disease,” a senior U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said on a call with reporters Thursday.
The official, who requested anonymity before discussing sensitive information, confirmed the agency has asked the company to run a placebo controlled trial of its treatment, which is administered directly into the brain. UniQure has said that type of study isn’t ethical because it would require putting people under general anesthesia for hours, a characterization the official disputed.
“So what is really going on? UniQure is the latest company to make a failed therapy for Huntington’s patients,” the official said. “They likely acknowledge or understand at some deep level that their trial failed years ago, and instead of doing the right thing and running the correct clinical study, UniQure is performing a distorted or manipulated comparison in the mind of FDA.”
The comments mark the latest development in a messy public spat between UniQure and the FDA, and as the agency comes under fire for a number of recent drug approval application rejections, including some where companies have accused it of going back on previous guidance. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick last week seemingly criticized UniQure’s gene therapy for Huntington’s disease. Makary didn’t name UniQure but described its treatment.
UniQure then accused the FDA of reversing its stance that the company’s clinical trial data would be sufficient to seek approval. UniQure’s study used an outside database to measure how patients with Huntington’s disease might decline without treatment, known as an external control. UniQure has said it wouldn’t be feasible to run a true randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study, considered the gold standard, because it wouldn’t be ethical to make people undergo a sham hours-long brain surgery.
The FDA official said the agency “never agreed to accept this distorted comparison” and the FDA “never makes such assurances.” Instead, the “FDA will always say, ‘Well, we have to see the data when we get it.'”
UniQure didn’t immediately comment.
The company’s stock rose more than 10% on Thursday and has fallen 58% this year as of Thursday afternoon.
Business
US mortgage rates rise to 6% after three-week slide as oil-driven bond yields climb – The Times of India
The average long-term US mortgage rate edged higher this week, ending a three-week decline as bond yields rose amid oil-price pressures linked to the war with Iran.The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6% from 5.98% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said on Thursday. A year ago, the average rate stood at 6.63%, AP reported.The modest uptick breaks a three-week slide in borrowing costs, with mortgage rates having hovered close to the 6% mark for most of this year. Last week’s average had marked the first time the rate dipped below 6% since September 2022, reaching its lowest level in nearly three and a half years.Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy, investor expectations about inflation and economic growth, and movements in the bond market.They typically track the direction of the 10-year US Treasury yield, which lenders use as a benchmark for pricing home loans.The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.14% at midday Thursday, up from around 4% a week earlier.Treasury yields have moved higher in recent days as rising oil prices added fresh inflation concerns, potentially complicating the Federal Reserve’s plans to cut interest rates.
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