ISLAMABAD: In a first, Mari Energies on Monday announced the award of about 17.5 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of natural gas to Universal Gas Distribution Company Ltd (UGDCL) from a new discovery in Waziristan for sale to its select customers.
This is the first such award under the Petroleum Policy 2012 and subsequent decisions of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet last year, allowing gas producers to sell 35pc of new finds to private entities.
In a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Mari Energies said it had invited bids on May 15 for the award of a contract to sell its gas from the Spinwam Gas Discovery, Waziristan Block, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
After “successful conclusion of the bidding process, we have issued a ‘Letter of Award’ to the successful bidder, Universal Gas Distribution Company (Pvt) Ltd (UGDCL) for sale of up to 17.5 mmscfd of gas from the discovery,” it said.
UGDCL gets 17.5mmcfd from Waziristan discovery
With this UGDCL has already become the largest private entity engaged in the sale of natural gas while the gas sector remains mostly in the public sector monopoly through Sui Northern and Sui Southern gas companies. UGDCL is already selling more than 40 mmcfd of gas to private customers, mostly in the industrial sector. With the fresh addition, the portfolio would total about 60 mmcfd.
Mari reported to the PSX, that the two parties would ‘now obtain the regulatory and other requisite approvals as envisaged in the Framework for Sale of Gas to Third Parties” notified on Jan 7, 2025.
Mari Energies is the Operator of the Waziristan Block, with a 55pc working interest, along with Oil and Gas Development Company Limited and Orient Petroleum Inc. as joint venture partners, with 35pc and 10pc working interests, respectively.
The sources said a total of four dozen firms had applied for the bidding that was opened up by Mari Energies to non-licenced entities as well. The bid entailed a 2012 policy rate of $6.86 plus a minimum bid start of $1 per mmBtu. It was finally decided at a premium, Mari sources said, indicating that delivered natural gas price may range between $10-10.5 per mmBtu after transportation charges and bid price.
Ogra has already granted more than a dozen licences to private firms for sale of natural gas but only UGDC has been able to practically enter into gas sales and purchase agreements with producers, consumers and transporters.
The two public sector entities — SNGPL and SSGCL — enjoyed decades of legal monopoly over gas sales and distribution rights in the country, which ended in 2010, but an enabling legal and regulatory environment could not be created over the following decade, effectively maintaining their exclusive rights until last year.
In January 2025, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, decided to sell 35pc of new gas finds to third-party private entities through a bidding process to ease liquidity challenges of the exploration and production (E&P) companies and attract $4-5bn fresh investment in offshore exploration.
Earlier in January 2024, the CCI had decided to allow E&P companies to sell their reserves to third parties and directed the gas companies and the petroleum division to prepare a framework for the sale of 35pc of unallocated gas to third parties and to get it approved by the Ecnec.
Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2026
