Mari Petroleum announces gas discovery in Sindh

• Mari Petroleum says well was spud on November 24.
  
• Says company to assess reserves' quality to establish scope.
• Discovery to help Pakistan meet energy demand amid severe crisis.

Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) Monday announced a gas discovery in Sindh, which it said would go a long way in helping the energy-strapped country meet the escalating demand through indigenous resources.

“MPCL, the operator of Mari Development and Production Lease (Mari D&PL), is pleased to announce gas discovery from its exploratory efforts at Mari Ghazij-1 exploration well, drilled in Mari D&PL, located in District Ghotki," said a statement shared with the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.

Most of Pakistan's electricity is produced using imported fossil fuels, including liquefied natural gas, prices of which have sky-rocketed over recent months.

According to MPCL, the well was spud in on November 24, 2022, and successfully drilled 1,015 metres deep.

“The gas flow rate established through Drill Stem Test (DST) is 5.1 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) with Wellhead Flowing Pressure (WHFP) of 232 pounds per square inch (psi) at 64/64 inch choke size.”

Terming it the first dedicated exploratory well, targeting multiple Ghazij limestone units, the exploration company explained, “The concept emerged from Iqbal-1 well wherein a thin limestone unit in Ghazij Formation was found to make a minor contribution of ~0.5 MMSCFD to the flow.”

“Based on that, the limestone units within Ghazij Formation were thoroughly studied in the entire Mari D&PL area to ascertain their reservoir potential and deliverability in the play’s sweet spot that has been successfully proven through Mari Ghazij-1 discovery.”

The discovery in Mari D&PL showed the MPCL’s commitment to exploiting the hydrocarbon potential of the lease and aggressive exploration strategy, it added.

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

Terming the discovery a success for the company’s geoscientists, Managing Director/CEO MPCL Faheem Haider said, “The company now plans to appraise this discovery to prove its extent, in parallel evaluate its development options”.

“MPCL’s aim is to contribute to arresting the declining gas production in the country through a combination of maximizing production from current fields and discovering new resources via aggressive exploration strategy targeting high-grade prospects within the company’s portfolio,” Haider added.

Managing Director/CEO Fauji Foundation and Chairman MPCL Board of Directors, Waqar Ahmed Malik, congratulated MPCL’s management for testing this new play concept for exploration in a mature field.