OGDCL plans shale gas drilling

Atif Abbas

Islamabad: The Oil and Gas Company Limited (OGDCL) plans shale gas drilling to enhance growth in production.

We will make joint with foreign companies to attract investment and drill shale gas in Pakistan, newly appointed Chairman OGDCL Board Dr. Qamar J. Sharif said while talking to a selected group of journalists.

He also unveiled a strategy of enhancing production to reduce reliance on energy imports to cut import bills.

We will focus on three key areas which include production, strategy, and talent to increase the growth of the company to uplift the profit of the company to double, he said adding that they would also back company management to explore more wells.

We will also focus on the exploration of oil and gas with a joint venture of foreign companies to attract foreign investment in exploration, he said adding that they will also form a strategy to focus on exploring shale gas in Pakistan.

Dr. Sharif is a petroleum engineering specialist and has worked in world companies like Shell and Saudi Aramco. He was also project manager of Shell in Pakistan at a time when a Dutch company had made efforts to drill offshore gas in Karachi.

Citing an example of the US, he said, “The US turned into oil sufficient and exporting country after reliance on shale gas in the country. The OGDCL will also invest in the sale gas sector, he said.

The potential in the exploration sector needs to be taped as E&P Companies are meeting only10 percent of the total fuel consumption of the countries. We are far behind other countries where per barrel production is between 350,000 barrels per day to 500,000 barrels per day, he said.

Responding to a question, he said that the government has to give more incentives to foreign E&P companies in drilling.

He said E&P companies require the extra cost of drill in Pakistan as compared with other countries. “In Pakistan, a drilling takes a month period as compared with other countries where a usually drilling period is 10 to 15 days”, he said.

He maintained that the cost of drilling in Pakistan is much higher but the success ratio of oil and gas discoveries is equally higher than in other countries. ”The success ratio of discovery in Pakistan is 1 success out of three drilled wells contrary to other countries where this ratio is 1 to 10 wells”, he said.

He said that the success rate of ExxonMobil is 20 percent in offshore drilling in Karachi but people should wait for the result as a seismic survey of the Karachi to Hyderabad belt is very promising.

He said ExxonMobil was drilling in the basin of Karachi where Shell spent $ 100 million on drilling in 2006.

He said the OGDCL board will support the divestment of OGDCL shares if any decision of the government is taken as major stakeholders.