VIENNA, Oct 22: Austrian gas and oil group OMV started full production at the new Sawan gas field in Pakistan on Wednesday, more than tripling its gas production in Pakistan, the company said.

OMV, which operates Sawan as part of an international consortium, said in a statement its second field in Pakistan boosted the group’s production in that country to 18,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from 5,000 boepd.

“With the start of full production at this field, we have become the biggest international gas operator in Pakistan,” OMV chief executive Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer said.

OMV, Austria’s largest listed industrial group, explores for and produces oil and natural gas, refines petroleum products and runs a retail network of petrol stations in central and eastern Europe.

As part of wider production goals, OMV aims to increase its daily natural gas production from the present level of around 117,000 boepd to 160,000 boepd by 2008.

OMV said it had contracts to sell the Sawan gas to two Pakistani gas companies, Sui Southern Gas Company and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines.

Sawan has commercially usable reserves of more than 45 billion cubic meters and OMV said its share of the daily production was around 13,000 boepd.

OMV has a stake of 19.74 per cent in Sawan. Its consortium partners are Pakistan Petroleum Limited (26.18 per cent), Eni AEP Limited (23.68 per cent), Government Holdings Private Limited (22.50 per cent) and Moravske Naftove Doly a.s. (7.90 per cent).—Reuters