Pakistan Petroleum makes another discovery in Sindh

Fourth significant development since new govt took over in June.

KARACHI:

Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) on Monday announced the discovery of condensate and gas reserves in Sanghar District of Sindh, just a month after finding petroleum reserves in the same area in another well.

According to initial test results, 27.8 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas and 337 barrels per day of condensate were found in a well in Gambat South block.

“Exploration well Shahdad X-1 was spud on March 30, 2013 and reached the final depth of 3,665 metres on June 19, 2013. Based on wire-line logs, potential hydrocarbon bearing zones were identified,” it said.



“However, the final flow potential of the well will be determined after its completion. This discovery will add more hydrocarbon reserves and also reduce the gap between supply and demand of oil and gas during the current energy crisis in the country.”

PPL is the operator of the block where on June 19 it announced discovery of 5.9 to 7.4 mmscfd of gas along with 40 to 54 bpd condensate. The company had also said a second test was in progress that had initially flowed 16.8 mmscfd of gas along with 144 bpd of condensate.

Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL) and Asia Resources Oil Limited (AROL) with 25% and 10% working interest are joint venture partners of PPL in the block.

“Although the impact of these discoveries will be seen over the next few years, they are very important for PPL and the country,” Muzammil Aslam, MD of Emerging Economics Research told The Express Tribune on the second gas and condensate discovery.

This is the fourth significant announcement by PPL since June when the new government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) took over. Solving the deteriorating energy crisis was Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s main slogan during the election campaign.

On June 28, PPL signed a memorandum of understanding with UK-based Orion Energy for offshore exploration and using gas from PPL’s Kandhkot field to set up a power plant. Officials say the two projects would need investments of more than $170 million.

Earlier this month, PPL also announced prospects of increasing production from X-1 well in Hala Block as it went deeper into the reservoir to find petroleum reserves.

A company official insisted that a series of successes in a short period of time was the result of PPL’s aggressive exploration stance that it had taken in the last few years.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd, 2013.

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