By an OGJ correspondent
KARACHI, Feb. 22 -- Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province and Hungary's MOL Rt. have signed a land acquisition agreement to explore for natural gas on Tal Block in the province. In the past MOL has made several gas and condensate discoveries on the block (OGJ Online, Sept. 8, 2006).
The provincial government would acquire about 5,000 Kanal units of land, which would be leased to MOL for 30 years for gas exploration. A kanal equals about 506 sq m, or 1/8 acre.
It will be the first development of its kind in the province and is the first large-scale compulsory land acquisition by the provincial government. Most of the land will be used for laying a gathering system on the block.
Janos Feher, managing director of MOL Pakistan, said the company would be able to complete the development and production phase of Manzalai field on schedule and would be able to provide 250 MMcf of gas and 4,000 bbl of condensate in first quarter 2009.
Once developed, the field will meet almost all of the gas needs in the province and will contribute to the needs of other areas in northern Pakistan, Feher said.
