Shell starts offshore drilling

Pakistan is on its way to make new history by hitting untapped potential for oil and gas production as the Shell-led consortium has started drilling in deep waters for offshore exploration project.
Sources said that Shell Pakistan, being operator of the project, has managed to bring ''Transocean'', a ship-mounted rig, for exploration in Pakistan''s deep waters.
Drilling started on October 1, and so far half of the drilling process has been completed. The concerned authorities are of the view that drilling process may take another 15 to 20 days. The project will cost roughly $ 46 million. The parties to the joint venture--OGDC, PPL and Government Holding (Pvt) Limited (GHPL)--are party to the project.
Experts hope for a positive outcome of the exploration since offshore block, being drilled, is believed to have very bright prospects. They believe that a discovery in deep waters will help Pakistan increase domestic oil and gas production share. The positive outcome can also help Pakistan secure more investment in its oil and gas sector.
Shell was granted a block in Pakistan''s deep waters in 2005. Since then, it made several attempts to secure a rig for exploration. However, its initial efforts did not succeed. At one stage, it appeared that the project may not take off.
In response to the partners'' queries, seeking reasons of delay in securing the rig and spudding the well, Shell informed them early this month that drill ship ''D534'' was on its way, and ETA was September 15. It said that a helicopter to facilitate the operation has already arrived in Karachi and standby vessel Ocean Flower had arrived in Karachi on September 10.
Shell said: "We have been informed that the Sea Trout, our main supply vessel, that was to transport the casing, drill bits, offshore containers and other supplies from Dubai to Karachi, has suffered damage to a main engine and requires replacement of the crank shaft. These ongoing repairs in Dubai are anticipated to take until September 19 to complete. This would delay the arrival of the vessel in Pakistan until September 24 for customs clearance which could lead to a delay in spud date of around 10 days."