A consortium drilling for oil and gas in southeastern Pakistan has reported a major discovery that could mitigate risks for other regional projects.
The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) announced via a stock exchange filing that the Akhiro-1 well has been successfully tested, yielding approximately 10 million standard cubic feet of gas daily. OGDCL holds a 20% stake in the project, which is led by United Energy Pakistan Limited (75%), alongside Government Holding Private Limited and Sindh Energy Holding Limited, each with 2.5%.
The announcement follows OGDCL’s recent preliminary agreement with a subsidiary of China’s CNPC to explore Pakistan’s tight gas and shale gas resources.
Despite Pakistan’s rich oil and gas reserves, development efforts have faced challenges due to the need for substantial investments, with few major international firms currently willing to commit. A former official from Pakistan’s oil and gas regulatory body highlighted the potential of the discovery, suggesting that if confirmed as gas reserves, it could replace liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. Similarly, if they are oil reserves, they could reduce the country’s reliance on imported oil.
However, Muhammad Arif, an industry expert, noted that developing these reserves could require around $5 billion and take four to five years before production begins. Given that Pakistan imports nearly 30% of its gas and 85% of its oil, costing the state $17.5 billion last year—projected to rise to $31 billion in seven years—there is an urgent need to attract investment to reduce this dependency.
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