Discovery of new oil & gas deposit may be a game-changer for Pakistan

Pakistan’s energy major MOL Group has announced the discovery of a new oil and gas reservoir in the Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The discovery could ease the nation’s heavy reliance on energy imports.

“I am delighted to announce that we have made another discovery in Pakistan,”  said Berislav Gaso, MOL Group’s exploration and production EVP. “This new discovery has de-risked an exploration play in deeper reservoir in the Tal Block [an oil and gas field located in Pakistan’s Kohat District], leading to new upside opportunities. The Mamikhel South-1 discovery will also help to improve the energy security of the country from indigenous resources,” he added.

MOL has been successfully operating in Pakistan for 21 years, having made 13 oil, gas and condensate discoveries there.

“Well test has shown 3,240 barrels of condensate per day, 16.12 mmscf [million standard cubic feet] of gas per day and 48 barrels of water per day,” said Pakistan Oilfields Limited, which holds a pre-commerciality working interest of 25 percent in the Tal Block.

Statistics show that Pakistan produced 85,000 barrels of oil per day in March 2020. However, the country meets around 80 percent of its oil demand through imports. Similarly, it produces less than four billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcfd) against the required seven bcfd. The country partially meets local demand through imports and manages the total requirement by conducting load-shedding for industries.

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According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the nation’s energy imports stood at $9.8 billion, which constituted around one-fourth of total imports of $40.86 billion in first 11 months (July-May) of the previous fiscal year (FY20).

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