The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) on Wednesday announced a gas discovery from an exploratory well located in Ghotki, Sindh.

In a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company stated: “The joint venture (JV) of Guddu Block comprising Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) as operator (70%), SPUD Energy PTY Limited (SEPL) (13.5%), IPR Transoil Corporation (IPRTOC) (11.5%) and Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL) (5%) has discovered Gas from an Exploratory well namely Umair South East # 01, which is located in District Ghotki, Sindh.”

OGDCL stated that the Umair South East # 01 well was spudded on May 9, 2022 as an exploratory well to test the hydrocarbon potential of Pirkoh Formation and Habib Rahi Limestone (HRL) to a planned depth of 785m into HRL.

Hydrocarbon discovered in Bannu West Block, KP

“Based on the results of wireline logs interpretation, successful Drill Stem Test-1 in HRL has tested 1.063 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) gas through choke size 32/64" at Well Head Flowing Pressure (WHFP) of 210 Pounds per Square Inch (PSi).”

The Pakistani oil and gas company said that the discovery of Umair South East-1 is the result of an aggressive exploration strategy adopted by Guddu Joint Venture Partners.

“It has opened a new avenue and will positively contribute in mitigating energy demand and supply gap from indigenous resources and will add to the hydrocarbon reserves base of OGDCL and of the country,” it said.

The development comes at a good time for Pakistan that has seen massive power load-shedding and been crippled by gas shortage recently.

Earlier this month, Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) also made a gas/condensate discovery at Bannu West-1 ST-1 Exploration Well drilled in Bannu West Block, located in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.