Staff Reporter
Karachi
The statement attributed to MD and CEO Moin Raza Khan pertaining to presence of natural gas reserves in Kekra X-1 well was decontextualized, stated Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) sources.
As such, Khan never suggested that Prime Minister Imran Khan was misinformed on the matter as the well was drilled with reasonable chances of success per E&P operational standards.
Although the well encountered excellent quality predicted reservoir, it turned out to be a water-bearing reservoir and was aborted due to discouraging results in confirming hydrocarbons. Khan was speaking at Pakistan Petroleum Limited’s (PPL) 68th Annual General Meeting on October 28 during which he shared the company’s progress and achievements during 2018-19 and highlighted the importance of drilling the deep water offshore well Kekra X-1.
Kekra X-1 was drilled in Indus G Block by operator Eni Pakistan Limited and Exxon Mobil, both global oil and gas majors, along with the two largest state-owned companies in Pakistan, PPL and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited.
A lot of hope was pinned on drilling of Kekra X-1 with an expectation of 8 Tcf recoverable reserves, stated Khan. Despite the fact that Kekra-1 was a challenging deep offshore well, it was drilled successfully with a success ratio of 12 percent.
Both PPL and OGDCL played a proactive role in Kekra-1 per the Joint Operating Agreement under Production Sharing Agreement and best practices of the E&P industry.
As such, both state-owned companies followed a thorough due diligence and decision-making process, with priority given to organizational and national interest. Substantive information emerging from Kekra X-1 drilling would be beneficial for drilling in future, opined Khan.
