Oil and Gas Development Company Limited has detected lithium in formation water drawn from a high temperature geothermal well in Sindh, marking what the company describes as a first for Pakistan and a step forward in the country’s push into critical minerals. The discovery was made during advanced geochemical analysis of produced formation water from a successfully tested geothermal well under the company’s pilot geothermal programme in the province, with officials saying the concentrations recorded are comparable to leading lithium bearing geothermal brines found abroad.
Formation water refers to salty underground water trapped in rock formations for millions of years alongside oil, gas, or trace minerals, including lithium. When this water is brought to the surface during oil and gas production, it is referred to as produced water, and companies increasingly extract lithium from it for use as a brine source in battery manufacturing. The presence of lithium in Sindh places Pakistan among a growing number of countries exploring geothermal brines as a potential source of the mineral, which has become central to the global transition toward clean energy technologies.
Lithium serves as a key component in electric vehicle batteries, grid scale energy storage systems, and a range of other next generation technologies, with global demand expected to grow rapidly over the coming decade. Roughly 80 percent of global lithium consumption is tied to electric vehicle batteries used in cars, buses, trucks, and two wheelers, while the mineral also plays an important role in large scale energy storage systems that support renewable power generation. Beyond the energy sector, lithium is used in consumer electronics, aerospace, defense, healthcare, and manufacturing applications, appearing in smartphones, laptops, wearable devices, aircraft components, and specialized chemicals.
While the discovery represents a promising development, company officials emphasized that further technical work remains necessary to determine the scale and commercial viability of the resource. Oil and Gas Development Company has planned an expanded evaluation programme that will include detailed brine chemistry profiling, resource confirmation studies, and assessments aligned with international standards, working alongside international consultants to guide the next phase of exploration. If subsequent studies confirm commercially recoverable resources, the discovery could strengthen Pakistan’s position in global critical mineral supply chains, attract foreign investment, and support the state owned company’s broader efforts to diversify beyond conventional oil and gas exploration into emerging energy technologies.
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