OGDC enters fresh phase of hydrocarbon search

Company is engaged in oil and gas exploration in 31 new blocks, of which 15 are situated in Balochistan

ISLAMABAD:

Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), the country’s largest oil and gas explorer, has entered fresh phase of hydrocarbon search as it is working on 15 new blocks in Balochistan in an attempt to tap local resources and aid government’s efforts to tackle the energy crisis.

At present, the company is engaged in exploration of oil and gas in 31 new blocks across the country, of which 15 are situated in resource-rich Balochistan.



“OGDC has entered into an exploratory phase for 15 new blocks in Balochistan,” confirmed company spokesman Ahmad Hayat Luk.

Talking to The Express Tribune, a senior OGDC official said Balochistan had remained underexplored in the past because of some reasons including security threats. However, the company management has now undertaken work on 15 new blocks to utilise the country’s oil and gas resources.

The official said a contract for seismic data collection had been awarded to foreign firms in the province.

OGDC Managing Director Zahid Mir explained that since core business of the company was oil and gas exploration, therefore, it intended to invest in it for the replacement of reserves.

“Reserves replacement means that new oil and gas finds will be added following depletion of old deposits to sustain profitability of the company,” he said.



Mir pointed out that the plunge in global oil prices had provided an opportunity for the company to pump capital into drilling oil and gas wells.

“Services and equipment are available at much cheaper rates compared to the past due to the dip in global crude prices and the company wants to capitalise on the opportunity in order to find fresh deposits,” he said.

In the current financial year 2015-16, OGDC has set the target of drilling 31 wells, of which 16 have been drilled so far, another official said, adding “work on the remaining wells was under way to meet the goal.”

In addition to the new blocks, the company has also stepped up work on the old wells, especially in Balochistan where the number of such blocks is 26.



The OGDC management has been working to accelerate production, which will allow it to utilise the wide reserves base and meet energy demand in the country.

In February 2016, average daily production of the company stood at 41,485 barrels of oil, 998 million cubic feet of gas, 384 tons of liquefied petroleum gas and 48 tons of sulphur.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2016.

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