KARACHI, June 9: Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) will drill 35 wells in the next five years under a dynamic programme to enhance its exploration activities. A PPL official said here on Wednesday that the company had the distinction of the largest gas producer in the country.

"It is necessary to maintain this status and make major discoveries to replace the existing resources. We have identified new blocks for exploration", he added. He said the government was very supportive in PPL's exploration activities.

He pointed out that the company had started work in Nushki, Khuzdar and Dadhar blocks in Balochistan. Previously, the company could not start work in these blocks due to security reasons.

Hala block had been awarded to PPL, while discovery at Tal block last year was more than the expectation and the testing indicated that gas reserves at this block had exceeded estimates.

The official said that 45 per cent of the total revenues were from fields other than Sui. He pointed out that Sui gas field had deeper potential for more reserves and the company was planning to resume work on this project as the security situation had improved. -APP