An Advisor at the Intersection of Three Markets

Few advisors sit as naturally at the crossroads of the UK, the Gulf, and Pakistan as Asad Shamim. A British-Pakistani entrepreneur, international government advisor, and Senior Advisor to HRH Sheikh Ahmad Bin Faisal Al Qassimi of the UAE, he has spent years facilitating investment across these corridors, with a particular focus on energy and infrastructure. In this Q&A, he addresses the questions international investors most frequently raise about Pakistan's upstream oil and gas sector.

Q: Why should international investors look at Pakistan's upstream sector at all?

The starting point is geology and demand. Pakistan has sedimentary basins that remain genuinely underexplored relative to their potential, and a domestic market with persistent, structural demand for gas. A country that imports significant volumes of LNG while holding unexplored acreage presents a clear commercial logic: every domestic discovery displaces expensive imports. That alignment between national interest and investor return is rarer than people think, and it is the foundation on which good projects are built.

Q: What do investors identify as the main risks, and are they right?

The concerns are familiar: currency convertibility and repatriation of returns, circular debt in the energy chain, security in certain operating areas, and policy continuity across political cycles. These are legitimate considerations, and no serious advisor should minimise them. But the right question is not whether risk exists, it is whether risk can be structured, priced, and mitigated. In my experience, most of Pakistan's upstream risk is addressable through deal architecture: the choice of partners, the contractual framework, the phasing of capital, and the engagement strategy with government.

Q: How does deal structure de-risk a project in practice?

Several mechanisms matter. First, partnership with established local operators who understand the terrain, operationally and institutionally, reduces execution risk dramatically. Second, phased capital deployment tied to defined milestones keeps exposure proportionate to information: you earn into confidence rather than paying for it upfront. Third, contractual protections around fiscal terms and dispute resolution, ideally anchored in frameworks with international enforceability, give boards and investment committees the assurance they need. Fourth, structuring through jurisdictions that both Pakistan and investors trust, and here Gulf hubs play an increasingly important role, simplifies everything from financing to exit.

Q: What role does Gulf capital play in this corridor?

A growing one. Gulf sovereign and private capital has both the appetite and the strategic rationale to invest in Pakistan's energy value chain, from upstream exploration to LNG infrastructure. What has been missing historically is connective tissue, trusted intermediaries who understand the expectations of Gulf investment committees and the realities of Pakistani regulation. Building that connective tissue is a significant part of the advisory work I focus on: aligning capital, operators, and government so that each side's requirements are understood before term sheets are drafted.

Q: How important is government engagement?

Essential, and it must be done properly. Upstream investment is a decades-long relationship with the state, not a transaction. Investors should engage early with the relevant ministries and regulators, understand the direction of petroleum policy, and position their projects within national priorities such as import substitution and energy security. Governments respond to investors who demonstrate long-term commitment, technology transfer, and local employment. That is not lobbying; it is alignment, and it is the single most underrated de-risking tool available.

Q: What is your outlook for the next five years?

Cautiously constructive. The fundamentals, geology, demand, and the fiscal need to reduce import dependence, are not going away. If policy continuity holds and early projects demonstrate that international capital can enter, operate, and exit successfully, momentum will build on itself. The investors who do best will be those who move deliberately now, secure quality acreage and partnerships, and structure for resilience rather than optimism.

Q: What is the single most common mistake you see investors make?

Treating Pakistan as a spreadsheet exercise. Investors who evaluate the market entirely from London or Dubai, relying on third-hand risk reports, either overprice the risk and walk away from good assets or underprice it and structure carelessly. The corrective is presence: visit the basins, meet the regulators, sit with prospective operating partners, and speak to companies already producing in-country. Every serious investor I have accompanied on that journey has recalibrated, usually towards a more nuanced, more confident position than the one they arrived with. Risk assessed from a distance is almost always distorted; risk assessed in the room can be structured.

Readers can follow ongoing commentary and engagements via the news section, or reach out through the contact page to discuss specific opportunities in the corridor.