Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), the largest oil and gas exploration company in Pakistan, announced on Monday the discovery of oil and gas reserves from its exploratory well in Sindh.

In a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company announced that OGDCL, “as operator with 100% working interest, has discovered oil and gas from development cum exploratory well namely Chak-5 Dim South-3 which is located in District Sanghar, Sindh Province.”

The exploration company said that Chak-5 Dim South-3 was spudded in on June 26, 2022 as development cum exploratory well by using OGDCL’s in-house expertise.

“The well was drilled down to 3,400 meters, based on the results of wireline logs interpretation, Drill Stem Test-1 in the massive sand has tested 2,000 Barrels of Oil per Day (BOPD) and 1.30 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) gas through choke size 32/64” at Well Head Flowing Pressure (WHFP) of 994 pounds per square inch (Psi),“ said OGDCL.

OGDCL said discovery shows the company’s aggressive exploration strategy.

“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 OGDCL and the country,” said the company.

Earlier in October, OGDCL discovered oil reserves in Punjab.

The development comes as Pakistan faces an energy crunch, as its reserves continue to deplete, while the country struggles to obtain fuel cargoes.

Last week, State Minister for Energy, Musadik Malik in a press conference reiterated that Russia will provide Pakistan crude oil at discounted rates.

Malik said Russia would provide Pakistan crude at a discount, similar to what the energy giant is giving to other countries in the world.

“It (discount) could be greater than being given to others,” he added.

Moreover, the minister shared that the government is working with Azerbaijan on a gas purchase framework agreement, which is being drafted.

“Under this framework, we would have a government-to-government level agreement with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic, largely known as SOCAR, which will provide us with distressed cargoes on a monthly basis, and the Government of Pakistan would have the option to purchase these cargoes at given rates or not. “This will help us increase our gas supply,” he said.