Democracy promises development: PM Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday warned that technocratic and undemocratic forms of governance had failed to deliver in the past, as Pakistan could only progress and prosper under a democratic set-up.

He was addressing a gathering at Jhandial near Fateh Jang where he and the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated the Jhandial Gas Field.  

Abbasi said the government would continue to pursue the “dynamic” policies of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and take the country forward on the path of progress and prosperity.

“The policies of Nawaz Sharif are yielding positive results and would continue to do so in future.” 

He said the people of
Pakistan would decide in August 2018 polls as to who could serve them better in the days ahead and take the country forward.

He said it was a huge gas discovery in Punjab after a long time and hoped more successful discoveries would be possible in the near future.

Abbasi said Rs15 billion had been invested in the Jhandial field by the Pakistan Oil Fields and Attock Oil and discovered gas at 18,500 feet, one of the deepest wells in the country. 

He said the field promised reserves of at least 292 billion standard cubic feet of gas and 23 million barrels of oil per annum. 

He said the field would produce 21 million cubic feet per day gas equivalent to the needs for Rawalpindi and Islamabad. 

He said the field would also produce 2,550 barrels per day and 50 ton LPG. He hoped that the area around Jhandial and its people would benefit and prosper with the new discovery. 

He said all consumers of natural gas in the country; whether they belonged to the industrial, commercial or domestic sectors were getting uninterrupted supply of gas. 

He said the PML-N government was proud to have made significant successes in the fields of oil and gas and 103 successful projects had been undertaken in the past four years. 

PM Abbasi said achievements in the development sector in the past four years were many times more than those in the past 15 years. 

He said the present government despite numerous challenges had brought in 10,000MW electricity to the national grid. 

He also announced provision of natural gas for the villages and towns in the vicinity of gas field.

He said the discovery, though in Punjab, was a discovery for the entire Pakistan. The chief minister was also appreciative of the hard work put in by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who in his capacity as the petroleum minister pushed hard for the new successful discoveries. 

He said all the federating units together were making Pakistan strong and prosperous. He said Pakistan besides fully exploiting the natural resources also needs to optimally use other sources of energy to meet country's energy needs.

The field is one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the area, which according to preliminary estimates indicates recoverable reserves of at least 292 billion standard cubic feet of gas and 23 million barrels of oil per annum. 

Shahbaz Sharif, federal ministers Khurram Dastagir Khan, Sheikh Aftab and Jam Kamal were present on the occasion. 

It is the first major discovery by the Pakistan Oil fields Limited (POL) in the last five years.

Jhandial well is located in Ikhlas Block in Northern Potohar, about 83 kilometers Southwest of Islamabad in District Attock. 

The Jhandial discovery is expected to contribute to the country’s energy sustainability while also having a positive impact on the future of exploratory efforts in the block and surrounding areas. 

The well will be connected to the production line in around a fortnight and will gradually attain full potential.

The POL holds 80% share in the block whereas the Attock Oil Company (AOC) has a 20% share. Experts say the block from where the discovery had been made was located in a prospective but geologically complex area surrounded by a number of significant oil discoveries.

The drilling of the deep exploratory well Jhandial-1 was proposed after acquisition and interpretation of 3D seismic data. 

The prime minister was briefed about the new discovery. He was informed that the well was drilled to a total depth of 18,497 feet to test the Eocene and Paleocene carbonate reservoirs. 

During tests, significant amount of hydrocarbons (oil and gas) were discovered with flow rates of 21 million cubic feet of gas and 2,520 barrels of oil per day at choke size of 40/64 at well head flowing pressure of 3,768 psi, besides 50 tonnes of Liquified Petroleum Gas. 

The American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity of the oil is around 40ø and the gas has a rich calorific value of 1,161 British Thermal Units per standard cubic feet of gas. The gas composition analysis indicates that it contains about 86% methane, 7.2% ethane and 2.9% propane. The LPG content of the gas is about 2.5 metric tons per million cubic feet of gas.