KOHAT, Feb 19: Commercial supply of natural gas from Gurguri oil and gas fields in Karak district has been started through 78 kilometre-long 10 inch-diameter pipeline to Kohat and other parts of the country, it is learnt.

This is in addition to the production from Shakardarra oil fields in Kohat from where nine million cubic feet gas and 2,500 barrel oil per day is being supplied to Punjab since July last.

Huge oil and gas reserves were discovered in the most backward and barren area of southern NWFP, Gurguri, in 2002. The gas reserves are estimated to be 100,000 trillion cubic feet whereas 300 barrel oil was also being produced by the facility daily. The oil wells could produce up to 4,000 barrels of oil daily, officials said.

The MOL Company has announced to begin drilling shortly at the new sites of Sam and Makori in Banda Daud Shah tehsil of Karak district where new discoveries of natural resources have been made.

On the other hand, survey for laying gas pipelines for domestic consumption is in progress in Gurguri and Shakardarra with a special grant of Rs5 million promised by the NWFP chief minister. Similarly, the OGDC had also promised to construct schools, hospitals and roads besides starting potable water supply schemes in Gurguri as had been done in Shakardarra.

The public representatives of Karak and Kohat have, meanwhile, demanded that two-and a-half per cent royalty from gas and oil profits should be allocated to the areas from where gas and oil had been discovered, according to law. Similarly, if the provincial government could not bear the expenses of supply of gas to local population in Karak and Kohat the OGDC should provide the money and then deduct it at source from the annual royalty, they suggested.

The district nazims and parliamentarians from the area had been warning the government that to avoid Sui-like situation in the area and the people should be provided the facility on priority basis.