Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), the largest oil and gas exploration company in Pakistan, on Thursday announced the discovery of oil reserves from its exploratory well in Punjab.

In a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company announced that OGDCL "being operator of Toot Mining Lease with 100% working interest has made oil discovery from Lokhart Formation at Toot Deep-I well which is located in Attock District, Punjab Province, Pakistan”.

OGDCL said that Toot Deep # 01 well was spudded-in on December 25, 2020, and successfully drilled down to a total depth of 5,545 meters in Tobra Formation.

“Based on interpretation results of open hole logs data, Lockhart Formation has successfully tested oil at the rate of 882 barrels per day (bpd) and 0.93 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) gas at Well Head Flowing Pressure (WHFP) of 600 pounds per square inch (psi) at 32/64" choke size,” read the notice.

OGDCL discovers oil, gas reserves in Sindh and Punjab

OGDCL said the latest oil discovery further extends the hydrocarbon play area in Pothohar basin, adding that it has adopted aggressive exploration strategies which have resulted in hydrocarbon discoveries.

"This discovery will add to the hydrocarbon reserve base of OGDCL and contribute positively towards oil and natural gas production from indigenous resources of Pakistan,” it stated.

Back in June, OGDCL had announced the discovery of oil and gas reserves from its exploratory wells located in Sindh and Punjab.

The discoveries were made in Rajanpur, a tribal area in Punjab, as well as district Tando Allah Yar, Sindh, the company said in notices to the PSX.

Earlier this month, Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) announced the discovery of gas and condensate reserves in Shahpur Chakar North X-1, an exploratory well, Block 2568-18 (Gambat South) located in District Sanghar, Sindh.