POL discovers hydrocarbons

KARACHI: Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (POL), the operator of Khaur D&P Lease, has discovered hydrocarbons from exploratory well Khaur North-01, located in Attock, Punjab. POL has 100pc working interest in the lease.

In a notice to Pakistan Stock Exchange, the company said that the drilling of Khaur North-01 (exploratory well) commenced on November 09, 2017 and achieved its target depth at 14,586 feet in amb formation.

As a result of drill stem test (DST) conducted for potential of eocene carbonates of shallowest sub-thrust sheet, the well has tested 502 barrels per day of oil, 1.40MMscf of gas per day with 277 barrels per day of water at 24/64-inch fixed choke size at the flowing wellhead pressure of 776-1090 psi.

The company explained that DST is a procedure for isolating and testing the surrounding geological formations through the drill stem. The test was said to be a measurement of pressure behaviour at the drill stem and was a way to obtain important fluid sampling information and to establish the probability of commercial production. “Accordingly, it should be borne in mind that the actual production may differ significantly from the test results,” POL cautioned. —Equities Correspondent

US reaches $3.1m settlement with Dupont

WASHINGTON: The US Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department have entered a $3.1 million settlement with E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co over a 2014 chemical accident at the company’s former La Porte, Texas, plant that killed four employees, the EPA said on Thursday.—Reuters

Wells Fargo looks to sell Eastdil Secured

NEW YORK: Wells Fargo & Co is exploring a sale of its Eastdil Secured real-estate division, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The US bank has been weighing a sale of Eastdil, which provides financial advisory services to real estate owners, for at least a few months now, the Journal said. Wells Fargo, which bought Eastdil in 1999, was not immediately available for comment.—Reuters

Shell slide weighs on Britain’s FTSE

LONDON: A drop in heavyweight oil stocks weighed on the UK’s top share index, which lagged a broader rally across European stocks on Thursday as U.S.-EU trade tensions thawed. The FTSE 100 index ended up 0.06 per cent at 7,663.17 points, while mid-caps also ended broadly flat.

Even though hopes of a breakthrough in trade talks between the European Union and the United States spurred risky assets higher globally, earnings reports and the ensuing share price moves dominated the action on the FTSE.

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell fell 3pc after the oil giant reported second-quarter profits sharply below expectations, overshadowing the launch of a long-anticipated $25 billion share buyback programme.

“As good as the news from Shell is, very strong Q2 profit growth ... thanks to higher oil prices, still missed expectations,” Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said.—Reuters

Nishat Chunian proposes to sell NCEL

KARACHI: Nishat Chunian Ltd, in a notice to stock exchange on Thursday, proposed to sell 100 per cent shares in its wholly-owned subsidiary — NC Entertainment Ltd (NCEL). Presently, the sole business of NCEL is running cinema screens in Lahore and Multan.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2018