KOHAT, Oct 26: The drilling work at the Chanda oil and gas field came to a standstill after a Chinese drilling company left the area for security reasons last month, said an official.

In an effort to restart the work, the Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) was trying to engage some other company in the project, a senior official told Dawn on Friday.

Answering a question, he said he did not know exactly when the drilling work would be resumed.

Twenty-two employees, including engineers, of the Great Wall Drilling Company were asked by the Chinese embassy to leave the area following a spate of bombings there.

The assistant field manager of the OGDC in Shakardarra said two successful discoveries had been made at Chanda-3 and Mela-2. The quantity and quality of the oil and gas reserves would be assessed after 2,000ft of digging. The official added that from the old wells of Chanda oil fields the corporation was already pumping 5,000 barrels of oil and 15 million cubic feet of gas daily.