MOL Group has made a commercial discovery with its Mardan Khel-1 exploration well on TAL block in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The company also has signed a farm-in agreement for Pakistan’s DG Khan block, taking 30% non-operating interest from Pakistan Oil Fields Ltd (POFL).
Mardan Khel-1, which spudded on Sept. 17, 2014, and reached a target depth of 4,912 m on Feb. 17, tested four formations with each flowing high volumes of gas and condensate. The company says total production capacity of Tal facilities, currently 80,000 boe/d gas and 37,000 boe/d of liquids, is sufficient for integration of the new well.
MOL plans to carry out an appraisal plan including additional wells on the eastern and western portions of the structure. The discovery is the company’s seventh on the block, occurring more than 4 years after the most recent one (OGJ Online, Feb. 22, 2011).
MOL Pakistan Oil & Gas Co. BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of MOL Group, operates TAL with 10% interest, partnering with Pakistan Oil & Gas Development Co. (OGDC) 30%, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd. (PPL) 30%, POFL 25%, and Government Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd. 5%. MOL is responsible for more than 70,000 boe/d in gross production from the block, which it has operated since 1999. The company holds interest in five Pakistani blocks.
Regarding DG Khan, the company describes it as a “promising gas and condensate exploration opportunity” in Punjab and Balochistan provinces. After MOL’s farm-in, the block will be operated by POFL with 70% working interest. The consortium plans to acquire seismic data this year followed by drilling of one exploration well in 2017. The transaction is subject to the approval of the Pakistani government.
“Pakistan is a promising and prospective country with significant remaining undeveloped resources and reserves, and MOL Group remains committed to investing in Pakistan’s oil and gas sector as our recent farm-in agreement and continued investment in the TAL block demonstrates,” commented Alexander Dodds, executive vice-president of MOL Group E&P.
