Mari Petroleum Company (MPCL) has recently discovered new gas reserves in district Ghotki in Sindh according to the bourse filing. Around 10.866 million standard cubic feet gas per day is produced at the exploratory well Shahbaz-1 in Mari D&P according to the MPCL Company authorities’ notification to Pakistan Stock Exchange. Announcement of this good news made share price shoot up by Rs. 9.72 or 1.04% to close at Rs. 942.92 with a turnover of 104,750.
With this notification, a well was drilled down to the depth of 1,180 meters in order to explore and test the hydrocarbon potentials of Sui Main Limestone (SML) and Sui Upper Limestone (SLU). Mari Gas Field is solely operated and owned by the MPCL. It is the largest gas field in the country in terms of balance reserves. There is no doubt that this new discovery is a new milestone in Mari D&P Lease Areas based on Mari 3D seismic results and it qualifies for 2012 Petroleum Policy price. According to analysts and the Petroleum Policy 2012, the MPCL discovery area come under Zone-III for which the well head gas price is set at $6.3 per million British thermal unit.
With this new gas discovery, it is now anticipated that gas issues in areas of Baluchistan and Sindh can be tackled. There are enough gas reserves to fill the needs of people in both the provinces but the problem is the pipeline projects, which can only be ensured through the government.