MariEnergies: Strategic UAE partnerships fuel growth in energy and mining

A leading player in Pakistan’s exploration and production (E&P) sector, MariEnergies has expanded its role across the value chain under CEO and Managing Director Faheem Haider. Since his appointment in 2020, the company has moved to fill the gap left by multinationals pulling back from the market, focusing on scaling operations, extending onshore and offshore acreage and diversifying into mining and digital infrastructure.

Strategic partnerships with the UAE have been central to this progress, providing industry expertise, commercial reach and scope for scalable investment. In this interview, Haider outlines how these partnerships are shaping the company’s future and shares his vision for its ongoing evolution.

The initial vision focused on strengthening existing operations and onshore exploration, followed by a phased entry into offshore exploration through partnerships with international companies. A key decision was to prioritise the flagship Mari Field by extending plateau gas production from the Habib Rahi Limestone reservoir for fertiliser customers. Through a pressure enhancement project undertaken in collaboration with customers, plateau production was extended from 2023 to 2029 and, following the Ghazij discovery, to 2035 and beyond.

Focused onshore exploration across the existing portfolio validated the belief that Pakistan’s onshore potential remains significant, resulting in several discoveries. Our exploration footprint has expanded through participation in successive bidding rounds since 2020, increasing from 19 to 72 blocks and extending coverage to approximately 155,703 square kilometres – creating a sustainable future exploration portfolio.

In October 2025, participation in Pakistan’s offshore bidding round covering the largely underexplored Indus and Makran basins resulted in securing 18 blocks as operator and five as a joint venture partner. We would welcome international partners for technical collaboration and to diversify exploration risk, with Turkish Petroleum having already executed offshore exploration agreements in Pakistan.

In parallel, we have undertaken diversification initiatives to mitigate oil and gas price cycles, including entry into the mining sector and investment in data centres through the development of a nationwide network of Tier III/IV-certified, purpose-built facilities.

What opportunities has this created for UAE partners and investors?

We have expanded our footprint by acquiring new onshore and offshore acreage in Pakistan and diversifying into the mining and technology sectors, including data centres. Gulf-based investors and partners are invited to evaluate these opportunities. As Pakistan currently imports oil and RLNG, new domestic discoveries can support local demand, while additional volumes – particularly from a major offshore discovery – can position the country for international exports.

In mining, Pakistan holds significant untapped potential, particularly in Chagai, Balochistan, a largely under-explored region capable of hosting world-class copper and gold porphyry deposits. The Tethyan Metallogenic Belt, extending over 3,000 kilometres from Europe to Balochistan, has yielded more than 240 discoveries in the past six decades. Mari Minerals has secured a sizeable portfolio of mining licenses within this belt. With rising global demand for minerals and rare earth metals, mining represents a key future growth pillar for both the company and the country.

In technology, subsidiaries Mari Technologies and Sky 47 are developing large-scale data centres in Islamabad and Karachi, providing cloud, managed and colocation services, along with AI-powered solutions and cybersecurity. Building on the strong relations between the Gulf countries and Pakistan, we look forward to mutual investment and the sharing of expertise between the two nations.

Our collaborations with leading UAE institutions are creating meaningful strategic alignment between Pakistan and the UAE across the energy and minerals value chains. These partnerships combine Pakistan’s strong technical, operational and resource base with the UAE’s global reach, capital strength and commercial expertise.

In the upstream energy sector, such collaborations demonstrate international confidence in Pakistan’s exploration and development capabilities and support portfolio diversification beyond domestic assets. They also enhance knowledge transfer, operational benchmarking and access to global best practices.

In the mining sector, our partnerships are accelerating exploration activities in highly prospective areas, improving project execution standards and opening pathways for downstream development. These joint efforts are helping to de-risk early-stage projects while positioning them for scalable investment.

Overall, the success of these collaborations is expected to catalyse further cross-border investments, not only between Pakistan and the UAE but also by attracting broader international interest. We see expanding opportunities across exploration, development, processing and associated infrastructure in both the energy and mining sectors.

We have several competitive advantages, one being that MariEnergies is an integrated E&P company. Mari Services division, our services arm, provides gravity, magnetic and seismic surveys along with an in-house seismic processing centre. We also have a mud logging unit and five drilling rigs catering to drilling depths of 2,500 to 8,000 metres, with associated crews.

We have footprints in all four provinces and have experience of exploration in all the country’s major basins. We also have in-house technical teams, who work collaboratively to sustain a pipeline of drillable prospects. Once a discovery is made, other departments move in for various phases of project development.

Another advantage is our excellent relationship with various stakeholders in the industry and our joint venture partners. Our shareholders include the government, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited and Fauji Foundation, a hybrid social enterprise primarily engaged in welfare of ex-servicemen.

UAE investment in Pakistan is occurring in diverse sectors such as renewable energy, AI, minerals, agriculture and fintech. Pakistan has tremendous potential for collaboration in these sectors and together the two countries can drive forward innovation that is beneficial for both the countries and the wider region.