ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd has found gas and condensate at an exploratory well in Khairpur district, Sindh, the company said on Wednesday, as Pakistan Petroleum Limited set out plans to drill 6,000 metres down at the Sui field in search of new reserves.
In a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, OGDCL said its Bitrisim Northwest-1 well flowed 12.8 million standard cubic feet of gas and 175 barrels of condensate a day during testing, through a 32/64-inch choke at a wellhead pressure of 3,020 psi. The well was spudded on August 21 and drilled to 3,732 metres in the Sembar Formation, and was tested in the Basal Sands of the Lower Goru Formation.
OGDCL operates the Bitrisim exploration licence with a 95 per cent working interest, and Government Holdings (Private) Limited holds the remaining 5 per cent. The company said it would connect the well to the national gas gathering system on a fast-track basis. “This discovery will enhance OGDCL’s hydrocarbon reserves base and contribute to Pakistan’s energy security by helping bridge the growing energy demand–supply gap through indigenous resources,” it said.
Going deeper at Sui
PPL told analysts on Wednesday that it plans to drill a 6,000-metre exploratory well at Sui in Balochistan in the 2027-28 fiscal year, with an initial target of about 2 trillion cubic feet of gas. High temperatures and pressures make the well technically difficult, and it is expected to cost $35 million to $40 million.
The company’s mature fields are declining by around 8 to 9 per cent a year. It expects production to rise to about 680 million cubic feet of gas equivalent a day in 2026-27, from 649 million in 2025-26, helped by discoveries at Baragzai in Nashpa, Latif-25, Makori East, Tolanj West and Rehman-9 in the Kirthar Block. Its Zafir gas processing plant is due to start in December at about 20 million cubic feet a day, rising to 40 million, and the Pateji plant in Sujawal is due to be commissioned by June 2027.
Every cubic foot found at home is one Pakistan does not have to import, a sharper concern while attacks on shipping keep the Strait of Hormuz largely closed.
