The Pab sandstone formation of Upper Cretaceous age is the source of much interest in Pakistan of late.
Pakistani company Mari Gas Co. Ltd. (MGCL) said it has discovered more than 1 tcf cubic feet of gas in southern Sindh province in one of the largest reservoirs in the country.
Pab produces or is capable of producing gas in several fields in southern Pakistan, including Mari Deep (OGJ, Jan. 3, 2000, p. 56).
The company will soon embark upon development of the field and is trying to raise $135 million to start production on a commercial basis, he said.
"We are negotiating the terms with the International Finance Corp. and the Asian Development Bank to provide the foreign exchange component of the required investment," MGCL planning and development manager Tariq Kitchlew said.
He said MGCL could start supplying gas from the new reserves within 18 months once the financing is secured.
MGCL is owned by Fauji Foundation, a company 40% owned by retired and serving army personnel.
The state-run Oil and Gas Development Corp. and the Pakistani government each have 20% stakes, while the remaining shares are held by the general public.
Meanwhile, Institut Francais du Petrole, Paris, is more than one year into a three-year study of Pab outcrops in the Lower Indus basin. Study participants are BP PLC, Lasmo PLC, OGDC, Petrobras, Premier, Shell, and TotalFinaElf.
The study area is a 120-km long area in the Pab and Laki mountain ranges between Karachi and Dadu. The outcrop analog studies are expected to advance understanding of the stratigraphic architecture (sequence and reservoir geometry) of turbiditic fans in the deep offshore.
