Commercial production of gas begins from OGDCL's Sujawal well-1

The commercial production of tight gas has been started from the Oil & Gas Development Company Limited's (OGDCL) Nur West Well-1 located in the Sindh district of Sajawal, the exploration company announced on Monday.

The welcome development came after the federal government earlier this year introduced the Tight Gas (Exploration & Production) Policy 2024, with a focus on an innovative pricing strategy to encourage efforts in exploring and producing unconventional hydrocarbon reserves.

The policy aims to promote activities in this sector by offering a significant 40% premium on the zonal price, defined in the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Policy 2012. Later, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) approved the policy, according to The News.

The country's largest exploration and production company owns the exploratory Nur West Well-1, drilled to a depth of 2,975 meters, in the Sindh district of Sujawal.

The good news came months after the company on April 8 this year announced the discovery of gas from its Sujawal well number 1. "[The] OGDCL is the sole operator with a 100% stake in the Nur Development & Production Lease (D&PL)," the company said.

In a statement issued today, the exploration company said, "The well currently produces 1.5 MMSCFD of gas with a wellhead flowing pressure of 1050 PSI, sourced from the Lower Guru formation ('A' Sand)."

The company said that gas has been integrated into the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) network, consequently strengthening the national gas supply infrastructure.

The well encountered a tight formation, and conventional testing methods did not yield favourable outcomes, the statement said, adding hydraulic fracturing was subsequently employed to achieve production viability.

The "hydraulic fracturing", or "fracking", is a method used to extract natural gas and oil from deep rock formations known as shale. Using this method, drilling operators force water, sand, and a mix of chemicals into horizontally drilled wells, causing the shale to crack and release natural gas or oil, according to NIH.

It should be noted here that 'tight gas' refers to natural gas produced from reservoir's rocks with such low permeability that considerable hydraulic fracturing is required to harvest the well at economical rates.