Pakistan’s largest state-owned oil and gas exploration company, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), has announced the commencement of regular oil production from the Bobi Deep-1 well, located in the Sanghar district of Sindh, in yet another major development in the country’s energy sector. This new development is expected to increase the availability of crude oil locally in the country and help reduce dependence on imported fuel.
According to a statement issued by the company, the well located in the Bobi and Dhamrki mining lease area is currently producing about 2,000 barrels of crude oil per day. This production is being obtained from the massive sand deposits of the Lower Goro Formation, where production activities were completed rapidly after the successful discovery last month.
OGDCL says that demonstrating exceptional speed in the completion of the project, a flow line of about one and a half kilometres long and four inches in diameter was laid in just a short period of time, through which the new well was connected to the Bobi processing plant. This move made it possible to immediately convert the discovered reserves into commercial production.
The company completed all the engineering, construction and operational activities of the project using its local expertise and technical capabilities. OGDCL has a 100 per cent working interest in the Bobi and Dhamrki mining leases, due to which the company itself carried out all the responsibilities from project planning to the start of production.
Energy experts say that Pakistan currently has to rely on large quantities of imports to meet its crude oil requirements, which increases pressure on foreign exchange reserves. In such a situation, new production at the local level can not only lead to a reduction in the import bill but also help in making the energy sector more stable in the future.
OGDCL has been continuously trying to improve its performance in recent months through new discoveries and increased production. In April this year, the company started commercial production from the Baragzai X-01 (Salient) well located in the Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is currently one of the highest-producing wells in Pakistan. The well is producing about 6,100 barrels of crude oil, 18 million cubic feet of gas and 50 tonnes of LPG per day.
Similarly, in March, OGDCL also started successful horizontal oil production from Pasakhi-13, located in the Hyderabad area, which was declared a major technical breakthrough in Pakistan’s oil sector.
Although the company made several new discoveries during the last financial year and continued drilling activities at nine different locations, its financial results remained under pressure due to some production constraints and market conditions. Despite this, the company continued its exploration and development strategy and discovered several new reserves, which could play a significant role in meeting the country’s energy needs in the future.
According to experts, if OGDCL continues to convert new discoveries into commercial production at the same pace, Pakistan’s energy self-sufficiency efforts could be significantly strengthened. New investments, modern technology and effective use of local resources will not only benefit the country’s economy but also pave the way for long-term stability in the oil and gas sector.