Daily Times

The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), on Monday, announced that it has discovered gas reserves in its exploratory well named Chand X-1, located at the Chanda Oilfield in the district Kohat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The joint venture of Chanda D&PL and OGDCL, together with the Government Holdings (Private) Limited (GHPL) and Zaver Petroleum Corporation Limited (ZPCL), has discovered crude oil and gas reserves from the well. The OGDCL has 72 percent stake in the field as operator while GHPL has 17.5 percent and ZPCL has 10.5 percent stake in the field.

In a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) by the OGDCL, the Company Secretary, Ahmed Hayat Lak, said that the well has tested 700bpd of crude oil and 2.2mmscfd of gas through 32/64″ choke at well head flowing pressure of 1150-1200psi from Hangu and Lumshiwal formation. Earlier, in December 1999, Lumshiwal was tested only 150bpd of crude oil and 0.86mmscfd of gas through 32/64″ choke at well head flowing pressure of 160-190psi and the additional contribution of 550bpd and 1.34mmscfd gas is from the Hangu Formation which has been tested for the first time in the Chand Well, he said.

The well has been completed to take commingle production from the Lumshiwal and Hangu Formations, added Lak.

He further said that the discovery of gas reserves is the result of aggressive exploration strategy adopted by the Company and it has opened a new avenue and would add to the hydrocarbon reserves base of OGDCL and of the country.

Chanda Oilfield is located in Shakardarra area of KPK province at a distance of about 70km from the Kohat city and it commenced production from July 17 2004. Chanda LPG plant was also installed in October 2006 producing 25-45 million tons per day of LPG. The field has added a new dimension to petroleum exploration in the province.

Chanda-l, the first well, was discovered in November 1999 in the Chanda Oilfield and the second well was drilled in 2000. Being the first ever discovery in the KPK, the start of regular commercial production from the Chanda field marked an important milestone, which generated revenues in the form of royalty and general sales tax for KPK from oil and gas production.

Published in Daily Times, September 11^th 2018.