Govt rejects consultant report on tight gas
The government has rejected findings of the first international consultant and has approved the presence of tight gas in an exploration field operated by Polish Oil and Gas Company.
The consultant hired by the director general petroleum concessions (DGPC) declared that the gas field had no tight gas reserves. But the DG hired a second consultant, who confirmed that the gas found by the Polish firm was tight gas, which raised doubts about the certification. Sources told The Express Tribune that the case was tabled in a recent meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), where it was highlighted that Polish Oil and Gas Company (POGC) had requested for approval of re-evaluation and re-certification of tight gas reserves in Rehman-8 ST-3 well, located in Rehman Development and Production Lease, in accordance with Clause 5(h) of the Tight Gas (E&P) Policy, 2011.
The Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) recalled that drilling on Rehman-8 ST-3 well started on August 5, 2021 and it reached a total depth of 2,845 metres on May 2, 2023. Based on the initial production performance and reservoir characteristics, POGC requested the declaration of the well as a tight gas reservoir under the 2011 policy. Accordingly, after competitive bidding, RPS was engaged as a third-party consultant to certify the reservoir. However, the report submitted by RPS was not accepted and declined vide letter dated October 23, 2024. POGC was also informed that the reservoir and the associated deposits would be considered conventional reserves.
The Petroleum Division told the meeting that subsequently, upon request from POGC, a re-evaluation of Rehman-8 ST-3 well was carried out by another internationally reputed third-party consultant, namely IPR International, in accordance with Clause 5(h) of the Tight Gas (E&P) Policy, 2011.
The consultant concluded that the gas-bearing reservoir in Rehman-8 ST-3 qualified as tight gas under the 2011 policy. "The reservoir cannot be produced economically using conventional production and completion techniques. It can be commercially exploited using unconventional techniques, such as high-performance perforation coupled with semi-massive hydraulic fracturing," it said.
Based on a detailed evaluation, IPR International certified that the reservoir permeability was approximately 0.91 milli-Darcy, which was below the threshold of 1.0 milli-Darcy prescribed under the Tight Gas Policy, 2011, thereby qualifying as tight gas deposits. The Petroleum Division revealed that a technical team of the director general petroleum concessions raised certain observations about the consultant's recommendations. In response, the consultant provided its response and justifications, which were part of the report.
It is pertinent to highlight that the certification of tight gas reserves is required under the 2011 policy from an independent third-party consultant. In the present case, a renowned consultant confirmed the tight nature of the reservoir, leaving limited regulatory discretion to disregard such a certification. The Petroleum Division pointed out that in the wake of Supreme Court's judgement in the Mustafa Impex case, the term "government" was construed as the federal cabinet, comprising the prime minister and federal ministers; therefore, the cabinet's approval was required for the declaration of Rehman-8 ST-3 as a tight gas well.
In light of the foregoing, the Petroleum Division solicited approval of the ECC, which considered a summary titled "Tight Gas Reserves and Reservoir Re-Certification in Respect of Rehman-8 ST-3 under Tight Gas (Exploration & Production) Policy, 2011", and approved the proposal.