OGDCL inks deal with PINSTECH for lithium exploration

Pakistan's largest exploration and production company, OGDCL, has partnered with the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH) for advanced lithium exploration. The signing ceremony took place in Islamabad and was attended by senior officials from both organizations. Under the terms of the agreement, PINSTECH will conduct Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP)-based elemental profiling of produced water and brine from OGDCL's candidate wells, focusing on lithium, rare earth elements, precious metals, and radioactive elements.

Over 2,000 samples will be collected for this purpose. The project aims to create a comprehensive geochemical database of OGDCL's produced water, rank wells by lithium and rare earth content, and identify areas of high to low concentration. This data will be crucial in evaluating the feasibility of Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE).

OGDCL views the expanded profiling effort as a way to transform produced water, traditionally considered waste, into a potential source of critical minerals. The company is also diversifying into minerals and new energy resources, including lithium and rare earths from produced water and geothermal brines.