Baratai well is expected to produce about 30 mmcfd of gas, 700 bpd of crude. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Limited (KPOGCL) has announced that it has discovered massive oil and gas reserves in the Baratai well of Kohat, where it works in a joint venture with Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC).
The well is going through a testing phase and it is expected to produce about 30 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) and 700 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd).
With the objective of tapping natural resources of the province, KPOGCL Chief Executive Officer Raziuddin signed an agreement with OGDC for drilling in the Baratai block.
Seismic data was acquired, processed and interpreted jointly by technical teams of the two companies. After several technical meetings, workshops and seismic data reinterpretation, drilling started on May 24 last year.
The well was drilled to a depth of 5,014 metres in a record time of 199 days.
“Baratai discovery is a landmark achievement. KPOGCL is the first provincial oil and gas holding company to start production. The discovery will generate revenues of over a billion rupees per annum for the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the form of royalty,” Raziuddin said.
The Vision 2025 set by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for the oil and gas sector including production of 200,000 bpd of crude oil and 2,000 mmcfd of gas looked achievable even before 2025, said the press release.
According to officials, the Baratai well-2 is planned to be drilled in the next three months, which is expected to bring the provincial government closer to its 2025 targets.
KPOGCL is also working with joint-venture partners Kufpec and OGDC in Paharpur, Pezu and Kulachi blocks. Drilling in these blocks will start in the next six months.
Raziuddin said KPOGCL had been able to attract investors for establishing six oil refineries in the province.
The company has already signed an agreement with the Frontier Works Organization for setting up a refinery in Karak. Land acquisition has been done for refineries in Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan.
KPOGCL is also in contact with investors for setting up a fertiliser manufacturing plant in the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2018.
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