Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL), one of Pakistan’s largest integrated petroleum exploration and production companies, announced that it has made a gas/condensate discovery in its exploration well located in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.

In the notice, MPCL said that the development was a result of its exploratory efforts at Bannu West-1 ST-1 Exploration Well drilled in Bannu West Block, located in North Waziristan.

“MPCL is the Operator of Bannu West Block having 55% working interest along with Oil and Gas Company Limited (OGDCL) and Zaver Petroleum Corporation (Pvt) Limited (ZPCL) as joint venture partners having 35% and 10% working interest, respectively,” added the PSX filing.

The well was spud-in on June 06, 2021 and successfully drilled down to the depth of 4,915 meters, with MPCL's own rig.

“During testing, Lockhart Limestone formation flowed gas at the rate of around 25 MMSCFD with Wellhead Flow Pressure (WHFP) of 4,339 Psi and around 300 BPD condensate at 32/64 inch choke size (Pre-acid). Further, Hangu Formation also flowed gas at the rate of 1.6 MMSCFD with WHFP of 297 Psi at 32/64 inch choke size.”

Back in March, MPCL announced the commencement of first gas from the Tipu compartment of “Goru B” reservoir.

“Initially, approximately 20 mmscfd of pipeline quality gas will be supplied to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) after processing at MPCL’s newly constructed Sachal Gas Processing Complex (SGPC) located in District Ghotki, Sindh,” MPCL said then in a statement.

With a 21% market share, MPCL is the second-largest gas producer in Pakistan and has a reserve base of around 600 million BOE (Barrels of Oil Equivalent).

“It is a positive development for Pakistan as new areas are being tapped as previously known areas are not resulting in any major discoveries and overall gas production of the country is declining,” said Fahad Rauf, Head of Research at Ismail Iqbal Securities Limited.

“There is currently no infrastructure to transport gas and it can potentially take many years to connect it to the system. However, apart from economic considerations, continuation of the project would be dependent upon the security situation in the area,” it added.

As per MPCL’s latest financials, its Profit After Tax (PAT) stood at Rs31,444 million in 2020-21 as compared to Rs30,312 million recorded in 2019-20.