January 26, 2008	Saturday	Muharram 16, 1429

KARACHI, Jan 25: The Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDCL) announced on Friday a small oil and gas discovery in Sindh.

The discovery will raise OGDCL’s oil output by 147.25 barrels per day (BPD) and gas by 10.165 million metric cubic feet a day.

“This is a small discovery and per share impact would be 0.08 rupees per share for OGDCL,” said Faraz Farooq, an analyst at First Capital Equities Ltd.

The discovery was made in its Exploratory Pasakhi East Well No. 1, in which OGDCL has a 95 per cent stake.

The company reported flat earnings for the first quarter of 2007-08 as higher exploration costs offset the impact of increased output. Its second quarter results ending Dec. 31 are due out in the coming weeks.

The OGDCL, which is also listed on the London Stock Exchange, has ramped up investment in an effort to reduce country’s dependence on imported fuel.

Its oil production totalled 44,750 bpd and 1148 million metric cubic feet a day in December 2007, according to its website. —Reuters