No oil and gas reserves have been found in offshore drilling off Karachi coast, Special Assistant to PM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar said on Saturday. Talking to a private TV channel, Babar said the process of drilling up to more than 5,500 meters was completed on Kekra-1 (Indus G-Block) off Karachi coast.
He said the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) also assisted Exxon Mobil and ENI in drilling the oil well. The PM’s aide said the office of the Petroleum Concessions DG had been informed about the results. He said that the total cost of drilling project, which had now been abandoned, was $100 million. It was the 17th such attempt to find oil and gas off the shore of Pakistan.
“No reserves were discovered after drilling up to over 5,000 metres,” another senior government official said. However, the official said that India had found offshore reserves after 40 such attempts. “Therefore, Pakistan should continue its efforts because there is a long geographical area where the presence of reserves is expected,” he said. The drilling was carried out in ultra-deep waters some 280 kilometres away from the Karachi coast. The well was spudded on January 13 this year, targeting a carbonate reservoir with a total depth of 5,660 metres.
