PPL discovers tight gas in Sindh

KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) has discovered 3.4 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of tight gas from its exploratory well, located in district Hyderabad, a bourse filing said on Friday.

“The well flowed good quality of gas at an average rate of 3.4 mmscfd at flowing wellhead pressure of 608 psi (per square inch),” the PPL said in a notice to Pakistan Stock Exchange.

The company added that the exploratory well, Kotri X-1, was drilled to test the hydrocarbon potential of sands of Lower Goru formation.

The energy firm is the operator of Kotri exploration licence with 100 percent working interest.

“Preliminary analyses of the test data suggest the discovery to be tight gas, however, further evaluation is required to determine the nature and commercially of the discovery based on the geological, geophysical and engineering data collected during the drilling and testing of the well,” the notice said.

PPL, the pioneer of the natural gas in the country, operates six producing fields: Sui (the largest gas field), Adhi, Kandhkot, Chachar, Mazarani and Hala.

It holds working interest in 15 partner-operated producing fields, including Qadirpur, the country’s second largest gas field.

A KASB Research report said the government of Balochistan allowed PPL to continue to operate the field, removing a major uncertainty on future of the field ownership, and extend the life of the lease by 10 years.

It said one-year extension granted by the federal government on the mining lease on the Sui field is, however, due to expire on 31 May, 2016. The new agreement was likely to be signed on 20 May.

Various reports said the new arrangement will earn Balochistan Rs7.5 billion of royalty/year from the field, up 3.5 percent compared to the current one.