Qamar inaugurates Hala Gas Processing Plant

The Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Syed Naveed Qamar, inaugurated Hala Gas Processing Plant here on Sunday. The event hosted by Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), that drew a diverse gathering comprising provincial and local government officials, area notables and media representatives.
The Hala Gas Processing Plant was commissioned in December 2009 and has an installed capacity of 12.5 MMscfd gas, 28 metric tons of LPG and 1,500 barrels of NGL per day.
The plant is currently in its commissioning phase and processing 9 MMscfd of gas being supplied to Sui Southern Gas Company,(SSGC), Limited, 18 metric tons LPG per day being sold to various marketing companies, such as, Wak Limited, SHV Energy Pakistan (Private) Limited, Sun and Foundation Gas and 800 barrels of NGL per day allocated to Byco Petroleum.
Federal Petroleum Minister, Syed Naveed Qamar, speaking on the occasion, congratulated PPL and Mari Gas on the inauguration of the facility. He highlighted the need to accelerate oil and gas exploration and to exploit the country's natural hydrocarbon resources.
He urged oil and gas companies to work with determination and focus, to optimise production and reserves replacement of hydrocarbons in order to gain energy self-sufficiency as well as to stem the huge drain on foreign exchange spent on oil imports. Syed Naveed Qamar said that the Ministry was determined to facilitating and enabling the Exploration and Production sector and offering attractive return-on-investment opportunities with a view to scaling up production and reserve replacement of hydrocarbons.
"We are fortunate to have enough hydrocarbon reserves in the country, the potential of which still remains to be fully tapped, but this is not a task the ministry can accomplish single-handedly, he said.
He added therefore, I request all of you to come forward and join us in securing a sustainable energy future and become partners in the country's progress, he said. "We are here to assist you, on which count I assure you will not be let down. What we need is grit, determination and hard work to make these fundamental work to our advantage and I am sure there will be no deficits on this front," Naveed Qamar added.
Syed Naveed Qamar also lauded the companys' profound efforts and urged to step up exploration programme so as to fulfil its responsibility in securing a safe energy future for the country. He urged the need to fulfil social and environmental responsibility and help development in their respective operational areas that generally tend to be located in remote swathes of the country and lack access to civic amenities such as infrastructure, education, healthcare and livelihood-generation opportunities.
Earlier, in his welcome address, MD and CEO PPL Khalid Rahman presented an overview of the facility and highlighted the company's aggressive efforts to scale up exploration programme. Khalid Rahman also thanked the Ministry for Petroleum and Natural Resources, provincial, local government officials and area notables for their assistance in enabling expeditious work in Hala, adding that he looked forward to the same assistance in the future. Roshan Din Junejo, MNA, also spoke on the occasion and welcomed the minister.
Straddling Sanghar and Matiari districts in Sindh, Hala Block is a joint venture of PPL, the operator with 65 percent working interest, and Mari Gas Company Limited (MGCL), that holds the remaining 35 percent. The exploration license for the block, covering an area of some 395 square kilometres, was granted to PPL in March, 2004.
Additionally, work is underway to evaluate further potential for hydrocarbons in the block, for which PPL has already acquired an additional 214 square kilometres 3D and 96 line kilometres 2D seismic in two stages. Based on the mapping of the data, several leads have been identified and further evaluated, yielding high prospects. As a result, PPL plans to drill a second exploration well in the block by the end of 2010 or early 2011. In line with past practice in other operational areas, the company has launched Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to benefit local communities at Hala of which the 14-bed Mother and Child Healthcare Ward at Taluka Hospital Hala inaugurated by Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman in April 2009 is a case in point.