Pakistan Plans Boost of Domestic Oil Reserves as Hormuz Constraints Expose Vulnerabilities Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. May 26, 2026 © Adobe Stock/Dancing Man Pakistan plans to boost domestic storage for crude oil and refined products to increase its energy security, according to a government document that was shared with oil producers and some of the world's leading trading firms. Despite depending on supplies through the Strait of Hormuz for up to 90% of its oil and liquefied natural gas imports, Pakistan has no strategic petroleum reserves. That has left it exposed to supply shocks provoked by the Iran war even as its lending programme with the International Monetary Fund limits room for costly state-owned emergency stocks. According to the document reviewed by Reuters, the energy ministry is proposing to build strategic petroleum reserves as well as commercial storage through bonded terminals, refineries and oil marketing companies. It is also pushing for more oil and gas exploration and production, upgrades to its refineries and a consolidation of its downstream sector. "Pakistan's oil security requires both emergency reserves and stronger local supply capacity," the ministry said in the document. It shared the proposed framework with Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Corp, Kuwait Petroleum Corp, QatarEnergy and PetroChina as well as oil trading firms Vitol and Trafigura and storage operator Vopak. Trafigura, Vitol and Aramco declined to comment. The other companies and Pakistan's petroleum ministry did not respond to requests for comment. Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said last week that building reserves was "easier said than done", especially for a country in an IMF programme with severe fiscal challenges, but added the government was trying to move quickly from planning to implementation. BONDED STORAGE, STRATEGIC RESERVES AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE Under the bonded storage plan, international suppliers and traders would be allowed to hold petro