Islamabad: Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has commissioned analysis of water from selected wells to assess its potential as a source of lithium and other critical minerals, under an agreement announced in September.
The company’s September 28 announcement said the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH) would analyse more than 2000 samples of produced water and brine. Produced water comes to the surface during oil and gas operations, while brine is water containing high concentrations of dissolved salts.
According to OGDCL’s official statement, the testing will measure lithium, rare earth elements, precious metals and radioactive elements. The findings will help rank candidate wells by mineral content and map differences in concentration.
The programme builds on a pilot study at the Wahid Bukhsh 01 well, where the company reported lithium concentrations of 291 milligrams per litre in geothermal brine. That is a concentration measurement, rather than an estimate of recoverable reserves.
The resulting database will support an assessment of Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE), which involves separating lithium from mineral-bearing liquids. OGDCL describes the initiative as part of its diversification beyond conventional oil and gas.
The announcement sets out a testing programme. It does not report completed analysis of all samples, establish commercially recoverable reserves or announce the start of lithium production.
