Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) holds the largest exploration acreage in Pakistan which showing the 27 percent of the country’s total area under exploration during March 2018.
During July 2017-March 2018, OGDCL continued with its seismic data activities acquiring 1,582 Line km of 2D and 461 sq. km of 3D seismic data. OGDCL’s 2D and 3D seismic data acquisition explains 39 percent and 63 percent of total seismic data acquired in Pakistan respectively. Furthermore, 3,927 Line km of 2D and 2,307 sq. km of 3D seismic data has been processed using in-house resources.
In the financial report of the company, the financial experts also recorded that OGDCL during the period under review spud eight exploratory wells such as; Ganjo Takkar-1, Umair-1, Khirun-1, Qadir Wali-1, Shawa X-1, Urs-1, Nur West-1 and Sheikhan Bhutta-1 and five development wells like; Mela-6, Kunnar West-2, Pasahki North-3 and Qadirpur HRL-13 & 14. Total meters drilled during the 9 months period were 59,688 as against to 55,949 in the preceding period. OGDCL’s exploratory endeavors to discover new hydrocarbon reserves yielded four oil and gas discoveries and having expected cumulative daily production of 47 MMcf of gas and 749 barrels of oil. These discoveries include Bhambara-1 in district Sukkur, Umair-1 in district Ghotki, Sindh province and Dhok Hussain-1 in district Kohat, KPK province, Tando Allah Yar South West-1 in district Hyderabad. Preliminary reserves estimate attributable to aforesaid discoveries is 116.87 billion cubic feet of gas and 1.40 million barrels of oil combined 20.45 million barrels of oil equivalent.
| OGDCL Performance Review | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Details | Unit of Measurement | 9M 2017-18 | 9M 2016-17 |
| Crude oil | Barrels per day | 41,509 | 43,989 |
| Gas | MMcf per day | 1,020 | 1,051 |
| LPG | Tons per day | 682 | 411 |
At present, OGDCL plans to up-grade plant facilities at Mela field along with laying of gas pipeline to Nashpa plant for the purpose of LPG extraction which is anticipated to be completed by June 2019. At Jhal Magsi field, the Government of Pakistan has reallocated gas to the company for sale to third party through competitive bidding. No doubt, the company with its continuous effort and commitment towards production enhancement injected seventeen new operated wells in the production system during the reporting period. Injected wells include Pakhro-1, Chanda-4, Dachrapur-3, Kunnar South-1, Tando Allah Yar-1, Chandio-1, Pasakhi North-3, Khamiso-1, Daru-1, Moolan-1, Resham-1, Nandpur-10, Kunnar Deep-10, Qadirpur-25A & 58, Qadirpur-HRL 12 & 14.
The financial report also showed that during the period under review, injected wells cumulatively yielded gross crude oil and gas production of 359,267 barrels and 9,624 MMcf respectively. During July 2017-February 2018, the company contributed almost 47 percent and 28 percent of the country’s total oil and natural gas production respectively.
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OGDCL posted enhanced financial results for the period ended 31 March 2018 as its sales revenue and Profit Before Tax climbed to 147.7 billion and Rs 80.2 billion explaining a growth of 17 percent and 24 percent respectively. Financial performance is mainly supported by rise in average basket price of crude oil which during the nine months period reached at US$ 57.7/barrel against US$ 48.8/barrel in the comparative period leading to higher average realized price of US$ 51.6/barrel against US$ 43.8/barrel in the previous period.
Furthermore, the company registered an improvement in the realized price for gas and LPG averaging Rs 254.8/Mcf and Rs 54,922/ton as compared with Rs 234.0/Mcf and Rs 43,185/ton respectively in the preceding period. Moreover, OGRA’s wellhead price notification impact with respect to Mamikhel, Marmzai and Makori East fields amounting Rs 3.7 billion pertaining to the period prior to June 2015 complemented by rise in LPG production and positive exchange rate variance lent further strength to financials.
However, OGDCL’s financial presentation during the 9 months period is slightly influenced by rise in operating expenditures up by 2.5 percent against the same period last year primarily on account of grow in salaries and wages and depreciation of fixed assets. The financial report of the company also calculated that overall, OGDCL registered Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 56.8 billion translating into Earnings Per Share (EPS) of Rs 13.21.
OGDCL’s financial experts also registered that the company’s average daily net crude production during 9 months at 41,509 barrels per day explaining a fall of 6 percent in comparison to the same period previous year mainly owing to natural depletion at Kunnar, Palli, Pasahki, Rajian, Mela, Nashpa and Sinjhoro fields. Moreover, production is influenced owing to short lifting of crude oil by refineries at Nashpa field with effect from November 2017 to December 2017. They have also calculated that the company’s average daily net saleable production during the period is 1,020 MMcf per day which compared to the preceding period is lower by 3 percent chiefly on account of natural fall at Loti, Qadirpur and Nashpa fields.
Additionally, lower gas production is because of less gas intake at Uch-I and Uch-II fields by UPL-I and UPL-II respectively owing to tripping/shut-in of their turbines accompanied with no gas supply from Qadirpur field to Liberty Power Limited with effect from December 2017 as per demand of SNGPL.
Regarding LPG, OGDCL posted 66 percent production surge owing to production startup from Nashpa field in conjunction with production rise from KPD-TAY and non operated JV fields. For increasing the market share of the company, the management of OGDCL and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) presently proclaimed a strategic cooperation initiative for evaluating future potential business opportunities in foreign upstream exploration and production.