OGDC falls short of its exploration target: only 13 of 57 wells drilled so far

The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) has terribly fallen short of its exploration target as it could drill only 14 wells in the eight months of the current fiscal year, against 57. Exploration experts term it next to possible to explore the remaining 43 wells by June 30 this year to fulfil its commitment.
Sources said that OGDC management is still claiming to meet the exploration target for 2005-06.
It had told the Prime Minister over OGDC performance that the company was well poised to meet the target of 57 wells, although factual situation on December 31 was contrary to this claim.
The presentation given to the Prime Minister, copy available with Business Recorder, mentions that despite the Director General Petroleum Concession DG PC office different views, the OGDC management voluntarily accepted the target of exploring 57 wells during 2005-06. The OGDC report released in March clearly mentions that it could drill only 14 wells, against the target of 57, and one well was spudded.
Sources said DG PC had termed OGDC target of 57 exploratory wells as unrealistic and had advised the OGDC management to revise it downward. But the advice was simply ignored and a hype was created by taking an ambitious target to give the impression that the company had undergone a change under management, with an innovative action plan, to take the OGDC to a new height to increase its oil and gas production. But the facts on the ground have shown a different story.
Technical experts in OGDC, whom this corespondent contacted for opinion on this technical issue, were of the view that OGDC could drill maximum 8 to 10 more wells by June 30, to take the total of exploratory wells to 22 to 25.
Instead of concealing the facts on exploration work, the management should have given the true picture to the Prime Minister to avoid embarrassment at the end of the fiscal year.
Poor performance is now an established fact and an open secret to everybody in the oil and gas exploration and production industry. Instead of reviewing the working plan to improve the performance, the management is busy awarding cash awards of millions of rupees to selected staff.
Sources said that top management's step to pick a few selected employees for cash award and leaving out others had discouraged the vast majority of the employees who are mulling to take the matter to the court of law.
The question remains as to what made the management to go for awarding millions of rupees to a few employees when the performance was extremely poor.
Other areas where OGDC management is interested is awarding contracts and works of millions of dollars to companies of their own choice without following rules and procedure, and snubbing those OGDC departments which recommend for observance of rules. Such employees are discouraged, no matter how long they had been serving in the organisation if they did not toe the management line for undue favour to any party of their choice.
The management terminated the services of four employees only last week, without any solid reason. Their only fault was not to follow the management policy for Petrosin for a job of Rs 300 million contract for Dhodak field.
Sources said that two technical departments had opposed Petrosin's entry for the job on the grounds that the company was already in litigation with OGDC. The technical departments suggested that since Petrosin was already in litigation with OGDC for default in another similar case it should not be considered for the contract.
Sources said that the management not only bypassed the opinion of two key technical departments but added Petrosin's name for issuance of tender inquiry. The management's action was enough to chide those departments, which demanded fair play and transparency in award of contract.