DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Exploration and Production (E&P) companies, under a joint venture, have discovered oil and gas reserves at 92 Kot Palak-1 well in Baska North Block located in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“Drill Stem Test-1 (Post Acid) in Pab Sandstone and Dunghan Lower Limestone has tested 17.1 Metric Million Standard Cubic Feet per Day (MMSCFD) Gas, 807 Barrels of Condensate per Day (BCPD) and 17 Barrels of Water per Day (BWPD) through choke size 40/64-inch at WellHead Flowing Pressure (WHFP) of 2308 Pounds per Square Inch (Psi),” the Petroleum Division (PD) announced on its twitter handle on Tuesday.

While, the Drill Stem Test-2 (Pre-Acid) in Dunghan Upper LimeStone and Dunghan Middle Sands had tested 22.02  MMSCFD gas, 1,033 BCPD oil and 15.8 BWPD.

The discovery is the result of a joint venture carried out by E&P companies including Al-Haj Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd, Al Haj Pak Kirthar B.V (85%) and Government Holdings (Private) Ltd (4.15%) at an exploratory well, spud on May 7, 2022 and drilled down to depth of 3,527 meters on November 18, 2022.

“Based on wireline logs interpretation and drilling results, potential hydrocarbon bearing zones were identified on which the testing was conducted successfully,” the PD added.

The discovery in Baska North Block showed the commitment of Baska North JV to exploit the hydrocarbon potential of the block and its 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 Al-Haj Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd and the Country.

“This is the fifteenth oil & gas discovery during the current calendar year,” the PD said, adding the subsequent production from these discoveries would help reduce reliance on imported oil and gas besides bridging the demand and supply gap.

Moreover, the Petroleum Division said the increased E&P activities would help create job opportunities and be beneficial in development of oil and gas producing districts under the social corporate responsibility (CSR) projects.