ISLAMABAD: Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has discovered gas and condensate from its exploratory well Sial-1, which is located in district Hyderabad Sindh.
According to a notice issued by OGDCL to Pakistan Stock Exchange in this discovery, OGDCL is an operator with 95% stake whereas the remaining 5% is of Government Holdings (Pvt). The structure of Sial-1 was drilled and tested using OGDCL’s in house expertise. The well was drilled down to the depth of 2442 meters. Based on the logs data, well was tested at the rate of 1.146 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of gas 680 barrels per day (BPD) of condensate through 32/64” choke at wellhead flowing pressure of 460 pounds per square inch (Psi) from Lower Goru Formation.
In the notice, it is further stated that the discovery of Sial-1 is the result of an aggressive exploration strategy adopted by the Company. It has opened a new avenue and would add to the hydrocarbon reserves base of OGDCL, its joint venture partners and of the country. It will also contribute to reducing the supply and demand gap of oil and gas in the country through the exploration and exploitation of indigenous resources.
Experts say that aggressive exploration is need of the hour as natural gas constitutes 43 per cent of the country’s energy needs, but shortages have become pronounced for almost a decade as domestic production has not kept pace with growing demand. This shortfall is brought about by a combination of depleting indigenous reserves and increasing demand. Due to rising demand from various sectors of the economy, particularly power, domestic, fertilizer, captive power and industry, the supplies are not sufficient enough. The demand-supply gap during 2018-19 was 1.44bcfd, which is expected to rise to 3.68bcfd by 2024-25 and 5.39bcfd by 2029-30.
