KARACHI: Exploration at the Kekra-1 well off the coast of southern Pakistan has been abandoned after no reserves of oil or gas were found, the spokesman for Oil and Gas Development Co Ltd, the Pakistani partner in the project said.

"The oil exploration well will be plugged and abandoned," said Ahmed Lax, spokesman for OGDC, which was part of the group behind the exploration, along with Italy's ENI SpA and Exxon Mobile Corp and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd.

He said the project had gathered valuable data which can be used in future exploration projects but when drilling reached the identified carbonated reservoir at the site, they found it consisted only of water.

"When you don't find success in exploration, you're getting data which cannot be found otherwise," he said.

Confirmation that the project has been abandoned comes as a blow to the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan which has pinned high hopes on offshore oil and gas discoveries to help with both the country's chronic energy deficiencies and its ballooning trade deficit.

Eni, which has been present in Pakistan since 2000, held a 25 percent stake in the venture and was the operator of the exploration licence for the site in a 7,500 square kilometre block in deep water in the Indus Basin.