The Government Holdings (Pvt) Limited and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) on Saturday signed an oil and gas production sharing agreement over offshore block No 2367-4 (Indus Delta-A). This would be OGDC's first activity as operator for offshore drilling.
Total area of the block is 2499 sq. km and it is located in the shallow waters on the offshore edge of Thar platform.
Talking to Business Recorder, OGDC Managing Director Najam Kemal Hyder called the entering of his company in offshore drilling as a good development for his company, and hoped that it would bring good news to the people of Pakistan by adding substantial volume of gas and oil in the future. He said that OGDC would conduct seismic survey to identify the prospects of oil and gas discovery in shallow waters very shortly.
According to Najam, the OGDC has already completed much of initial work for its first ever exploration project in offshore drilling.
Najam said: "The OGDC has done technical work for offshore drilling before entering into production-sharing formula with Government Holdings (Pvt) Limited which would enable it to enter the next phase for conducting seismic survey of the block very shortly."
Earlier, the Government Holdings (Pvt) Limited was granted licence by the government for offshore exploration in the block.
Additional Secretary Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Iftikhar Ahmad, Director General Petroleum Concessions, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources G A Sabri, Government Holdings (Pvt) Limited Director General Khurshid Anwar and OGDC Managing Director Najam Kemal Hyder signed the agreement.
The OGDC contributes major share of Pakistan's oil and gas production and for the same reason it is a big attraction for investors for its strategic sale. Its entry into offshore drilling obviously would add to its annual income and make more attractive for the investors.