At partition only some 5 percent of the industrial facilities of British India that approached large scale were located in what became Pakistan. The country started with virtually no industrial base. After independence the large Sui natural gas field was discovered in Baluchistan. Additional gas fields were subsequently found, providing the country with a valuable energy source. Associated natural gas was also recovered from crude oil production.
Hydroelectric power is an important domestic primary energy source.
The country's economic hydroelectric potential was estimated at around 10,000 megawatts. Nearly all of the hydrogenerators were located at two large multipurpose dams completed since independence. In 1983 Tarbela Dam has 1400 megawatts of installed capacity, and Mangla Dam has 800 megawatts. Large seasonal fluctuations in river flows posed a serious handicap to hydroelectric power generation. Mining Exploration of the country's mineral resources has barely started.