Pakistan suffers from an “acute energy crisis” that requires greater regional cooperation.  It currently has an electricity shortfall approximating 5,000 megawatts per day. Around 30 percent of the population does not have access to grid electricity, leaving about one third using noncommercial sources, according to a report by United States Institute of Peace.

The report showed that Pakistan domestic oil supply is projected to be exhausted by 2025 and gas in 2030 as a result of inadequate investment and political tensions. It estimated that energy imports could rise to $38 billion by 2015 if the country’s efforts to increase indigenous oil supply failed. The crisis, which can hardly be resolved domestically in the near term, has drawn regional countries into play.

Some are U.S. allies, but some are not what the U.S. is happy to see.

Iran has routinely provided Pakistan with energy to offset its shortfall. In April, Pakistan officials urged to speed up the implementation of the agreements on a pipeline that stretches through Iran to Pakistan.

The U.S. never supported the pipelines from Iran, but the energy hunger pushed Pakistan to countries such as Iran and China.

China has partner with Pakistan in energy development for years and has played a pivotal role in the country’s nuclear sector, which worries the U.S., according to the energy crisis report.

“Our relationship with China is strategic,” said Simbal Khan, Pakistan scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center. “China has given us nuclear reactors and all kinds of support.”

In the past years, the bilateral tie between U.S. and Pakistan went down. Roughly three-in-four, which is 74 percent, of Pakistanis consider the U.S. an enemy, up 5 percent from last year, according to Pew Research Center.

However, as Iran oil undergoes sanctions and the huge reserves of shale gas in the U.S. redraws the energy map, Pakistan has started looking to U.S. energy.

In October, Asim Hussain, Pakistan adviser to the prime minister on petroleum and natural resources, said the government is considering investing in a shale gas field to meet the Pakistan demand.

U.S. has been consistently assisting Pakistan in domestic energy development. Since 2009, the U.S. government has provided $2.8 billion in civilian assistance, including funds spent in energy sector.

“U.S. government assistance helped build Mangla Dam,” Ambassador Olson said. “Now, nearly 50 years later, the United States is helping to repair the dam to make sure it continues to produce the energy this country needs.”

Despite the complicate regional geopolitics, experts say the relationship between U.S. and Pakistan has finally improved in the past few months and they hope to see more policy changes in the U.S. Congress.

The United States has abundant oil and gas reserves in this almost untapped region. The Cook Inlet Region of Alaska contains undiscovered gas resources ranging from 4.976 trillion to 39.737 trillion cubic feet, undiscovered oil from 108 million to 1,359 million barrels, according to USGS website.

However, tapping oil in Alaska has risks. Unlike Norway, where the water is clear of ice, Alaska is faced with the presence of thick ice, extreme temperature, fragile ecosystem and remoteness. Experts say despite the challenging environment, there are geopolitical concerns involving Arctic drilling.

“The U.S. should have less interest in Arctic oil,” said Matthew Huber, assistant professor of public affairs at Syracuse University. “Yet, the U.S. has geopolitical rivalries with Russia, and thus, probably wants a voice and control in Arctic oil development if simply to manage or prevent the Russians from getting most of the access.”

The pressure of moving to the Arctic also comes from Norway, whose revenue is reliant on oil and gas exports. Norway remains the seventh largest exporter of oil and the second largest of gas. To maintain the position, in June 2012, Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced a new licensing round for oil and gas exploration.

Ola Borten Moe, the minister for Petroleum and Energy, said on Nov. 9 in a presentation at Brookings that of the 86 blocks ready to open up, 72 are in the Barents Sea, north of the Arctic.

“The cheap and easy oil are gone,” Moe said, noting that Norway would maintain a stable and high-level activity and offer more northern region for drilling.

While the Arctic remains under the governance of the eight nations – Norway, Russia, Canada, United States, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark, representing Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Huber said that the critical question is that whoever will own the oil under the Arctic Ocean can make contracts with any oil company, such as Shell or Sinopec or other Chinese national oil companies. And Russia could make deals with Chinese oil companies, he added.

Chinese oil companies are actively involved in the Arctic. In Greenland and Canada, Chinese companies are acquiring interests and financing for small companies to access to Arctic energy development, according to an earlier New York Times story.

The activity of non-arctic countries like China mirrors the fact that Arctic is becoming a strategic frontline. Six non-Arctic European countries also cast their influence as observers to the Arctic Council.

Amid controversy over environmental protection, the United States announced in November that up 4.5 million acres of Arctic land would be open for oil and gas exploration.

“There is no doubt that the importance of Arctic is growing,” Moe, Norway’s Petroleum and Energy minister, said.