KARAK, Sept 14 Oil and gas reserves have been discovered by the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited in the Nashpa village of the district and other sites in the area are under consideration for exploration activities.

Local people, meanwhile, demanded that the company should spend a portion of the amount earned from the site on provision of basic facilities like hospital, road, drinking water and school to the area. They also said local people should be given priority in job opportunities at the site.

A total of 7,000 barrel oil and 25 to 30 million cubic feet gas per day will be produced from the newly-discovered well, which will be made operational by Eidul Fitr. However, sources said, the exact quantity of the oil and gas reserves could be know only after further study.

An official of the OGDCL, who requested not to be named, told Dawn here on Monday that two zones in the Nashpa structure, situated in the Sabirabad Union Council of the Karak tehsil, have been discovered, adding it was a separate reserves and could not be linked with the oil and gas deposits already found in the Banda Daud Shah tehsil.

It is learnt that the depth of the wildcat (test well) is 4,500 meters and the exact place where the oil and gas reserves have been discovered is Salkhani.

Sources said the OGDCL had started exploration activities in the area eight months ago. They said 3,000 barrel oil and 10 million cubic feet gas per day could be produced from one zone and 4,000 barrel oil and 15 to 20 million cubic feet gas per day from another zone in the Nashpa structure.

They said other sites in the area were under consideration for exploration and work would soon be initiated there. The sources said the two zones would be made operational by Eidul Fitr and land had been acquired on rent on the Indus Highway near the Nashpa structure to build an oil and gas plant.

Meanwhile, talking to Dawn, local people and elders of Nashpa, Alwargi, Speena and Shaheedan areas, including councillor Isam Gul, Nadir Khan, Malik Azizur Rahman, Fareed Khan and Malik Fazal Rahim, claimed that the OGDCL had occupied their lands since initiation of the work but was not paying them the rates which were paid by the MOL company to landowners of Banda Daud Shah when such reserves were discovered there. They demanded the same compensation as paid to landowners of Banda Daud Shah.

According to them, provision of gas facility to the area was their constitutional right and it should be provided first to the local people.

They expressed their happiness over the discovery of oil and gas reserves and also offered help in further exploration activities, but said gas companies should not usurp the rights of local people and landowners.