ISLAMABAD: The Mari Petroleum Company, a joint venture of the government and the Fauji Foundation, announced on Monday a ‘significant’ gas and condensate discovery with estimated reserves of about 20 billion cubic feet (BCF) in Sujawal district of Sindh.

“We have been blessed with a significant gas and condensate discovery in Sujawal Block’s Sujjal-1 well,” said the announcement.

The company termed the discovery significant because it was the first hydrocarbon discovery in Lower Goru Upper C-Sand in the southernmost part of the country.

It said the discovery would result in expansion of the hydrocarbon potentials for other exploration and production companies operating in the area, thus opening up the country’s prospects of tapping into new reservoirs in the region.

The work on Sujjal-1 well, the second exploratory well in Sujawal Block, was taken up on Jan 26 and drilled down to a depth of 2535m in Lower Goru Formation. As a result of testing, the well flowed gas and condensate at a rate of 13.1 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) and 75 barrels per day (BPD), respectively, with wellhead pressure of 2477 PSI at 32/64” choke size, the company said.

It said the gas was of a good heating value of 1045 British thermal unit per cubic feet and its condensate API of 53 at 60 degree Fahrenheit.

The Sujjal well was also successfully tested at Lower Goru Upper A-Sand, which recorded a gas flow rate of 2.1mmcfd and condensate of 3.5 BPD with wellhead flowing pressure of 163 PSI at 48/64” choke size.

The company put preliminary reserves potential of about 20BCF of gas and condensate (equivalent) within C-Sand interval whose value, based on currently applicable gas price translated into rupee, was estimated at Rs11.70 billion.

The Sujjal discovery will be a new source of indigenous energy supply and is expected to significantly add to the nation’s hydrocarbon reserve base, consequently contributing to a reduction in gap between the energy demand and supply.

The Sujawal Block was awarded to the company as operator with 100 per cent working interest in June 2006. The company drilled its first exploration well, Sujawal X-1, in 2010, which led to a gas and condensate discovery. The discovery has since been brought on stream supplying gas to the Sui Southern Gas Company and condensate to the Pakistan Refinery and Pak-Arab Refinery.

It said the Sujjal-1 discovery further improved its high success rate.

At present the company operates two development and production leases and nine exploration blocks and also has joint venture interest in six other exploration blocks.