KARACHI: The Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) on Monday announced that it has identified tight gas potential at Naushahro Feroze Block. The PPL said, in order to explore tight gas potential in the lower Indus basin, the company drilled a well in Naushehro Feroze exploration lease. Tight gas potential was confirmed through successful drilling and testing of the first well Naushahro Feroze X1 (NF X-1). Due to the tight nature of the reservoir this discovery initially did not appear commercially viable. After a detailed post-well analysis and numerous sub-seismic geological and reservoir modellings, PPL re-drilled this well horizontally to a total length of 4,940 metres and completed with state of the art multistage frack technology. Where the Chiltan Limestone reservoir was successfully drilled in a horizontal section with total lateral length of more than 1.3 Km. The well was completed with ten stage open hole packers and fracking sleeves, it added. The PPL claimed that this well made history in drilling industry of Pakistan, by becoming one of the deepest and longest horizontal wells in tight carbonate reservoir. Later, all ten stages were stimulated (frac/acid) and successfully tested at 4.5 MMscfd with 1850 psi flowing wellhead pressure with 9 fold increase in production. In the future, “PPL plans to work on two additional tight gas discoveries to establish commercial viability,” says MD and CEO PPL Syed Wamiq Bokhari. “The company’s effort in tapping unconventional reservoirs has the potential to add substantial reserves to Pakistan’s hydrocarbons base,” he adds. NF X-1 is in Naushahro Feroz Block, Sindh, with PPL as operator holding 90 percent working interest and the remaining 10 percent held by Asia Resources Oil Limited. Moreover, the federal government has allowed PPL to continue production from Sui mining lease for a further period of six months with effect fromDecember 1, 2018, The Sui mining lease was due to expire on May 31, 2015. The government of Pakistan through a notification issued on May 30, 2015, allowed the company to continue producing from the Sui gas field for a further period of one year up to May 31, 2016. During May 2016, a memorandum of agreement (MoA) was executed between the federal and Balochistan governments for grant of development and production lease (D&PL) to the company over the Sui gas field, with effect from June 1, 2015. Published in Daily Times, January 2nd 2018.