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Pakistan's vast Shale Oil & Gas Reserves | Updates & Discussions

You don't just see Pakistan's glass half empty, you see it as completely empty with no hope of filling it.

There's nothing more toxic for a nation than the kind of cynicism you regularly express.

In spite of all of its problems, Pakistanis have accomplished a lot in the last 66 years.

Pakistan is a resilient nation with an upwardly mobile population.

Haq's Musings: Upwardly Mobile Pakistan on 66th Independence Day

Well said... these people are the mir jaffars of Pakistan.
There loyalties lies beyond Pakistani border.
 
You don't just see Pakistan's glass half empty, you see it as completely empty with no hope of filling it.

There's nothing more toxic for a nation than the kind of cynicism you regularly express.

In spite of all of its problems, Pakistanis have accomplished a lot in the last 66 years.

Pakistan is a resilient nation with an upwardly mobile population.

Haq's Musings: Upwardly Mobile Pakistan on 66th Independence Day

Please allow me to counter that by saying that there is nothing more fraudulent than the baseless trumpeting of "good times are here soon" as things continue to go from bad to worse since such cheer without foundations leads everyone to denial of just how bad the situation really is.

Over the last 66 years we have lost half the country, destroyed its institutions, lost out on decades of social development, ruined our power and energy sector, fallen prey to internal and external terrorism, and become known the world as a beggar and pariah state, and you want me to believe you that we have achieved much? Heaven lead us away from such "achievements", Sir. Oh wait, to be fair, lets hear about what you consider to be real achievements. Then we can talk about those too.
 
Please allow me to counter that by saying that there is nothing more fraudulent than the baseless trumpeting of "good times are here soon" as things continue to go from bad to worse since such cheer without foundations leads everyone to denial of just how bad the situation really is.

Over the last 66 years we have lost half the country, destroyed its institutions, lost out on decades of social development, ruined our power and energy sector, fallen prey to internal and external terrorism, and become known the world as a beggar and pariah state, and you want me to believe you that we have achieved much? Heaven lead us away from such "achievements", Sir. Oh wait, to be fair, lets hear about what you consider to be real achievements. Then we can talk about those too.

I see you as a member of the crowd that plays the worst 5% of the Pakistan story 95% of the time.

As I see it, here are the key parts of the 95% of the Pakistan story that gets little or no coverage.

Let's start with some of the key indicators of progress Pakistan has made since independence in 1947.

1. Health & Wealth:

The health and wealth of a nation depend on availability of good nutrition and access to health care and education, which in turn rely on economic growth to support needed public and private social spending.

The most basic indicators of progress, such as the life expectancy and per capita incomes of many nations, have been compiled and brought to life in animations developed by Professor Hans Rosling and posted on gapminder.org.



The Gapminder animations show that life expectancy in Pakistan has jumped from 32 years in 1947 to 67 years in 2009, and per Capita inflation-adjusted PPP income has risen from $766 in 1948 to $2603 in 2009.

2. Literacy:

Literacy is also a very important indicator of progress. Though the literacy in Pakistan has increased from about 10% in 1947 to about 60% today, it remains dismally low relative to many other nations.

However, a closer examination of literacy data by age groups shows that the literacy rates are rising by every generation:

Over 55 years 30% literate
45-55 40%
35-45 50%
25-35 60%
15-25 70% (Male 80%, Female 60%, UNICEF)

Rural and Female illiteracy are the biggest challenges.

3. Poverty, Hunger and Inequality:

The World Bank ranks Pakistan among lower-middle-income nations with per capita income exceeding $1000 a year.

Pakistan is still a country with significant population of poor people. However, its recent levels of poverty are among the lowest in South Asia.

The 2011 World Bank data shows that Pakistan's poverty rate of 17.2%, based on India's current poverty line of $1.03 per person per day, is more than 10 percentage points lower than India's 27.5%. Assam (urban), Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are the only three Indian states with equal or slightly lower poverty rates than Pakistan's.

Based on hunger data collected from 2003 to 2008, The International Food Policy Research (IFPRI) has reported that Pakistan's hunger index score improved over the last three consecutive years reported since 2008 from 21.7 (2008) to 21.0 (2009) to 19.1 (2010) and its ranking rose from 61 to 58 to 52. During the same period, India's index score worsened from 23.7 to 23.9 to 24.1 and its ranking moved from 66 to 65 to 67 on a list of 84 nations.


Pakistan is also more egalitarian than its neighbors. The CIA World Factbook reports Pakistan’s Gini Index has decreased from 41 in 1998-99 to 30.6 in 2007-8, lower than India's 36.8 and Bangladesh's 33.2.

4. Pakistan's Economy:

Pakistan state was broke in 1947 because India refused to give Pakistan its share of Sterling reserves. The situation was so bad that Pakistani govt couldn’t pay employees. In this first existential crisis, the Habibs bailed out Pakistani state by lending Rs. 80 million, more than half of Rs. 150 million budget.

Today, Pakistan's economy is the 27th largest in the world. As Part of "the Next 11" group of nations, it is one of the top 15 emerging economies (BRICs+Next11) picked by Goldman Sachs. Goldman forecasts Pakistan to be among the top 20 biggest economies in the world by 2025.

Since 2008, Pakistan's economy has been suffering from a serious stagflation, a very bad combination of slow growth and high inflation. But the history tells us that this current situation is not normal for Pakistan. After all, it's Pakistan's robust economic growth that has enabled significant progress based on the health and wealth indicators outlined earlier.

Beginning in 1947, Pakistani economy grew at a fairly impressive rate of 6 percent per year through the first four decades of the nation's existence. In spite of rapid population growth during this period, per capita incomes doubled, inflation remained low and poverty declined from 46% down to 18% by late 1980s, according to eminent Pakistani economist Dr. Ishrat Husain. This healthy economic performance was maintained through several wars and successive civilian and military governments in 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s until the decade of 1990s, now appropriately remembered as the lost decade.

In the period from 2000-2007, here's what the IMF agreed to in 2008 as part of the nation's bailout:

Pakistan became one of the four fastest growing economies in the Asian region during 2000-07 with its growth averaging 7.0 per cent per year for most of this period. As a result of strong economic growth, Pakistan succeeded in reducing poverty by one-half, creating almost 13 million jobs, halving the country's debt burden, raising foreign exchange reserves to a comfortable position and propping the country's exchange rate, restoring investors' confidence and most importantly, taking Pakistan out of the IMF Program.

5. Science and Technology:

Here are some of the facts about Pakistan's progress in science and technology that never make the headlines in the mainstream media anywhere, including Pakistan:

-Pakistan has been ScienceWatch’s Rising Star for scientific papers published in various international journals.

-Pakistan is among a handful of nations with dozens of scientists working on CERN’s high-profile SuperCollider Project. Several SuperCollider components were built in Pakistan.

-Jinnah Antarctic Station puts Pakistan among a dozen nations doing research in Antarctica.

-Pakistan’s IT Industry is worth $2.8 billion and growing



-Pakistan leads the world in biometric IT services with the world’s biggest biometric database.

-Top-selling Blackberry application was developed by a Pakistani company Pepper.pk

6. Arts, Literature & Culture:

There has been an explosion of the uniquely Pakistani arts and literature:

-Sachal Orchestra, a Lahore Jazz Group, is topping western music charts

-Regular book fairs, music concerts, fashion shows & theater group performances

-UK’s Granta Magazine Special Issue Highlights Successful Pakistani Authors’ Books Published in Europe and America. Examples: Mohsin Hamid (The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Daniyal Mueenuddin (In Other Rooms, Other Wonders), Kamila Shamsie (Burnt Shadows), Mohammad Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes) and Nadeem Aslam (The Wasted Vigil) who have been making waves in literary circles and winning prizes in London and New York.

7. Heavy Manufacturing:

Pakistan has a significant heavy industry today. For example:

-Autos, Motorcycles, Tractors, Buses, Trucks (Auto Sales Up 61% in July, 2011)

-Steel

-Nuclear Reactors (Khushab)

-Aircrafts

-Ships

-Unmanned Drones (UAVs)

-Army Tanks

-Ballistic and Cruise Missiles

8. Natural Resources:

Pakistan is rich in energy and mineral resources.

-US Dept of Energy estimates 51 trillion cubic feet of shale gas mostly in Sindh. And there's good potential for shale oil in the country.

-Vast coal reserves at Thar for cheap electricity

-Huge deposits of copper, gold, iron and rare earths at Reko Diq, Dilband and Saindak in Balochistan

-High sustained wind speeds of 13 to 16 mph along the Arabian Sea coastline

-Lots of sunshine everywhere all year round

-Significant hyrdo energy potential

9. Strong Society:

The Habibs bailed out Pakistani state in 1947.

Now, let's see how Edhi doing it in 2011. Here's quote from Anatol Leiven's "Pakistan: A Hard Country":

"There is no sight in Pakistan more moving than to visit some dusty, impoverished small town in arid wasteland, apparently abandoned by God and all sensible men and certainly abandoned by the Pakistani state and its own elected representatives- to see the flag of the Edhi Foundation flying over a concrete shack with a telephone, and the only ambulance in town standing in front. Here, if anywhere in Pakistan, lies the truth of human religion and human morality".

Lieven says Pakistanis donate 5% of the GDP for charitable cause, making Pakistanis the most generous people in the world. As a benchmark, philanthropy accounts for 2.2% of gdp in the United States, 1.3% in the UK, 1.2% in Canada and 0.6% in India.

10. Weak State:

Unfortunately, Pakistani state, run by politicians and their hand-picked civilian administrators, is weak, incompetent and ineffective.

The Pakistani military and the civil society bails out the state each time it is found lacking. Examples include the earthquake in 2005 , Swat takeover by Taliban insurgents in 2009, and massive floods in 2010. In each of these cases, the politicians and the civilian administrators abandoned the people and the world media declared Pakistan a failed state on the verge of total collapse. But they were proved wrong.

The military launched the rescue and relief efforts by deploying all of its resources, and then the NGOs like Edhi Foundation stepped in to help the people stand on their feet again.

Summary:

While the worst 5% of the Pakistan story gets all the headlines, the reality of Pakistan today as vibrant society and a strong nation gets ignored by the mainstream media. The real story of Pakistan is the resilience of its 180 million citizens who continue to strive to make it better and stronger.

The Taliban who get all the coverage do not pose an existential threat to Pakistan. Generations of military families have periodically fought FATA insurgencies. For example, Shuja Nawaz, the author of Crossed Swords says that his grandfather, his uncle and his cousin have all been deployed in Waziristan by the British and later Pakistani governments in the last century and a half. American withdrawal from the region will eventually calm the situation in Waziristan, and the rest of the country.

Climate change and the growing water scarcity are the main long-term existential threats to Pakistan and the region. Water per capita is already down below 1000 cubic meters and declining
What Pakistan needs are major 1960s style investments for a second Green Revolution to avoid the specter of mass starvation and political upheaval it will bring.

Haq's Musings: Pakistan's Story After 64 Years of Independence

Wide Angle Zoom: Formation and Future of Pakistan - Video Dailymotion
 
I see you as a member of the crowd that plays the worst 5% of the Pakistan story 95% of the time.

As I see it, here are the key parts of the 95% of the Pakistan story that gets little or no coverage.

Let's start with some of the key indicators of progress Pakistan has made since independence in 1947.

1. Health & Wealth:

The health and wealth of a nation depend on availability of good nutrition and access to health care and education, which in turn rely on economic growth to support needed public and private social spending.

The most basic indicators of progress, such as the life expectancy and per capita incomes of many nations, have been compiled and brought to life in animations developed by Professor Hans Rosling and posted on gapminder.org.



The Gapminder animations show that life expectancy in Pakistan has jumped from 32 years in 1947 to 67 years in 2009, and per Capita inflation-adjusted PPP income has risen from $766 in 1948 to $2603 in 2009.

2. Literacy:

Literacy is also a very important indicator of progress. Though the literacy in Pakistan has increased from about 10% in 1947 to about 60% today, it remains dismally low relative to many other nations.

However, a closer examination of literacy data by age groups shows that the literacy rates are rising by every generation:

Over 55 years 30% literate
45-55 40%
35-45 50%
25-35 60%
15-25 70% (Male 80%, Female 60%, UNICEF)

Rural and Female illiteracy are the biggest challenges.

3. Poverty, Hunger and Inequality:

The World Bank ranks Pakistan among lower-middle-income nations with per capita income exceeding $1000 a year.

Pakistan is still a country with significant population of poor people. However, its recent levels of poverty are among the lowest in South Asia.

The 2011 World Bank data shows that Pakistan's poverty rate of 17.2%, based on India's current poverty line of $1.03 per person per day, is more than 10 percentage points lower than India's 27.5%. Assam (urban), Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are the only three Indian states with equal or slightly lower poverty rates than Pakistan's.

Based on hunger data collected from 2003 to 2008, The International Food Policy Research (IFPRI) has reported that Pakistan's hunger index score improved over the last three consecutive years reported since 2008 from 21.7 (2008) to 21.0 (2009) to 19.1 (2010) and its ranking rose from 61 to 58 to 52. During the same period, India's index score worsened from 23.7 to 23.9 to 24.1 and its ranking moved from 66 to 65 to 67 on a list of 84 nations.


Pakistan is also more egalitarian than its neighbors. The CIA World Factbook reports Pakistan’s Gini Index has decreased from 41 in 1998-99 to 30.6 in 2007-8, lower than India's 36.8 and Bangladesh's 33.2.

4. Pakistan's Economy:

Pakistan state was broke in 1947 because India refused to give Pakistan its share of Sterling reserves. The situation was so bad that Pakistani govt couldn’t pay employees. In this first existential crisis, the Habibs bailed out Pakistani state by lending Rs. 80 million, more than half of Rs. 150 million budget.

Today, Pakistan's economy is the 27th largest in the world. As Part of "the Next 11" group of nations, it is one of the top 15 emerging economies (BRICs+Next11) picked by Goldman Sachs. Goldman forecasts Pakistan to be among the top 20 biggest economies in the world by 2025.

Since 2008, Pakistan's economy has been suffering from a serious stagflation, a very bad combination of slow growth and high inflation. But the history tells us that this current situation is not normal for Pakistan. After all, it's Pakistan's robust economic growth that has enabled significant progress based on the health and wealth indicators outlined earlier.

Beginning in 1947, Pakistani economy grew at a fairly impressive rate of 6 percent per year through the first four decades of the nation's existence. In spite of rapid population growth during this period, per capita incomes doubled, inflation remained low and poverty declined from 46% down to 18% by late 1980s, according to eminent Pakistani economist Dr. Ishrat Husain. This healthy economic performance was maintained through several wars and successive civilian and military governments in 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s until the decade of 1990s, now appropriately remembered as the lost decade.

In the period from 2000-2007, here's what the IMF agreed to in 2008 as part of the nation's bailout:

Pakistan became one of the four fastest growing economies in the Asian region during 2000-07 with its growth averaging 7.0 per cent per year for most of this period. As a result of strong economic growth, Pakistan succeeded in reducing poverty by one-half, creating almost 13 million jobs, halving the country's debt burden, raising foreign exchange reserves to a comfortable position and propping the country's exchange rate, restoring investors' confidence and most importantly, taking Pakistan out of the IMF Program.

5. Science and Technology:

Here are some of the facts about Pakistan's progress in science and technology that never make the headlines in the mainstream media anywhere, including Pakistan:

-Pakistan has been ScienceWatch’s Rising Star for scientific papers published in various international journals.

-Pakistan is among a handful of nations with dozens of scientists working on CERN’s high-profile SuperCollider Project. Several SuperCollider components were built in Pakistan.

-Jinnah Antarctic Station puts Pakistan among a dozen nations doing research in Antarctica.

-Pakistan’s IT Industry is worth $2.8 billion and growing



-Pakistan leads the world in biometric IT services with the world’s biggest biometric database.

-Top-selling Blackberry application was developed by a Pakistani company Pepper.pk

6. Arts, Literature & Culture:

There has been an explosion of the uniquely Pakistani arts and literature:

-Sachal Orchestra, a Lahore Jazz Group, is topping western music charts

-Regular book fairs, music concerts, fashion shows & theater group performances

-UK’s Granta Magazine Special Issue Highlights Successful Pakistani Authors’ Books Published in Europe and America. Examples: Mohsin Hamid (The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Daniyal Mueenuddin (In Other Rooms, Other Wonders), Kamila Shamsie (Burnt Shadows), Mohammad Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes) and Nadeem Aslam (The Wasted Vigil) who have been making waves in literary circles and winning prizes in London and New York.

7. Heavy Manufacturing:

Pakistan has a significant heavy industry today. For example:

-Autos, Motorcycles, Tractors, Buses, Trucks (Auto Sales Up 61% in July, 2011)

-Steel

-Nuclear Reactors (Khushab)

-Aircrafts

-Ships

-Unmanned Drones (UAVs)

-Army Tanks

-Ballistic and Cruise Missiles

8. Natural Resources:

Pakistan is rich in energy and mineral resources.

-US Dept of Energy estimates 51 trillion cubic feet of shale gas mostly in Sindh. And there's good potential for shale oil in the country.

-Vast coal reserves at Thar for cheap electricity

-Huge deposits of copper, gold, iron and rare earths at Reko Diq, Dilband and Saindak in Balochistan

-High sustained wind speeds of 13 to 16 mph along the Arabian Sea coastline

-Lots of sunshine everywhere all year round

-Significant hyrdo energy potential

9. Strong Society:

The Habibs bailed out Pakistani state in 1947.

Now, let's see how Edhi doing it in 2011. Here's quote from Anatol Leiven's "Pakistan: A Hard Country":

"There is no sight in Pakistan more moving than to visit some dusty, impoverished small town in arid wasteland, apparently abandoned by God and all sensible men and certainly abandoned by the Pakistani state and its own elected representatives- to see the flag of the Edhi Foundation flying over a concrete shack with a telephone, and the only ambulance in town standing in front. Here, if anywhere in Pakistan, lies the truth of human religion and human morality".

Lieven says Pakistanis donate 5% of the GDP for charitable cause, making Pakistanis the most generous people in the world. As a benchmark, philanthropy accounts for 2.2% of gdp in the United States, 1.3% in the UK, 1.2% in Canada and 0.6% in India.

10. Weak State:

Unfortunately, Pakistani state, run by politicians and their hand-picked civilian administrators, is weak, incompetent and ineffective.

The Pakistani military and the civil society bails out the state each time it is found lacking. Examples include the earthquake in 2005 , Swat takeover by Taliban insurgents in 2009, and massive floods in 2010. In each of these cases, the politicians and the civilian administrators abandoned the people and the world media declared Pakistan a failed state on the verge of total collapse. But they were proved wrong.

The military launched the rescue and relief efforts by deploying all of its resources, and then the NGOs like Edhi Foundation stepped in to help the people stand on their feet again.

Summary:

While the worst 5% of the Pakistan story gets all the headlines, the reality of Pakistan today as vibrant society and a strong nation gets ignored by the mainstream media. The real story of Pakistan is the resilience of its 180 million citizens who continue to strive to make it better and stronger.

The Taliban who get all the coverage do not pose an existential threat to Pakistan. Generations of military families have periodically fought FATA insurgencies. For example, Shuja Nawaz, the author of Crossed Swords says that his grandfather, his uncle and his cousin have all been deployed in Waziristan by the British and later Pakistani governments in the last century and a half. American withdrawal from the region will eventually calm the situation in Waziristan, and the rest of the country.

Climate change and the growing water scarcity are the main long-term existential threats to Pakistan and the region. Water per capita is already down below 1000 cubic meters and declining
What Pakistan needs are major 1960s style investments for a second Green Revolution to avoid the specter of mass starvation and political upheaval it will bring.

Haq's Musings: Pakistan's Story After 64 Years of Independence

Wide Angle Zoom: Formation and Future of Pakistan - Video Dailymotion

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I see you as a member of the crowd that plays the worst 5% of the Pakistan story 95% of the time.

As I see it, here are the key parts of the 95% of the Pakistan story that gets little or no coverage.

Let's start with some of the key indicators of progress Pakistan has made since independence in 1947.

..................

Summary:

While the worst 5% of the Pakistan story gets all the headlines, the reality of Pakistan today as vibrant society and a strong nation gets ignored by the mainstream media. The real story of Pakistan is the resilience of its 180 million citizens who continue to strive to make it better and stronger.

The Taliban who get all the coverage do not pose an existential threat to Pakistan. Generations of military families have periodically fought FATA insurgencies. For example, Shuja Nawaz, the author of Crossed Swords says that his grandfather, his uncle and his cousin have all been deployed in Waziristan by the British and later Pakistani governments in the last century and a half. American withdrawal from the region will eventually calm the situation in Waziristan, and the rest of the country.

Climate change and the growing water scarcity are the main long-term existential threats to Pakistan and the region. Water per capita is already down below 1000 cubic meters and declining
What Pakistan needs are major 1960s style investments for a second Green Revolution to avoid the specter of mass starvation and political upheaval it will bring.........................

As you peddle all that pre-canned tired old propaganda, please note how you never once assess all these milestones that you tout relative to other countries. Yes, our health, wealth and economy have improved since 1947, but we are further behind our peers than ever before.

(BTW, I am aware of your previous posts where you try to prove that we are doing so much better than India. That will not add anything here.)

Why is that Sir?

Of course, then you try to insinuate "false flags".

Please stick to the substance of the argument, if you can, Sir.
 
@Argus Panoptus, all i can tell you.. the potential of minerals in Pakistan is very realistic, along with Afghanistan... it is much more than the people can handle.
They available information is just a fraction of real potential, foreign states are willing to pour in $trillions to the politicians, media and separatists.
We are more rich than Saudi Arabia or Iran in both natural resources and human resources.
 
@Argus Panoptus, all i can tell you.. the potential of minerals in Pakistan is very realistic, along with Afghanistan... it is much more than the people can handle.
They available information is just a fraction of real potential, foreign states are willing to pour in $trillions to the politicians, media and separatists.
We are more rich than Saudi Arabia or Iran in both natural resources and human resources.

Former Goldman Sachs executive Jim O'Neill, the man who coined BRIC, agrees with your assessment re Pakistan vs many other nations, imncluding Saudi Arabia and GCC nations.

In his book "The Growth Map" published in late 2011, Goldman Sachs' Jim O'Neill of BRIC fame has reiterated Pakistan's long term growth prospects as part of the Next 11 (N-11) group of nations which includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Turkey, South Korea, and Vietnam.

Answering a reporter's question about the growth prospects of GCC (oil-rich nations of Gulf Cooperation Council) at a recent investment conference in Dubai, he said: "Some GCC countries are well placed to be hubs for the BRIC and N-11-influenced world. I often think of Dubai as a kind of N-11 center, even the capital of the N-11 world, given its business adjacency to Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and, of course, India and Russia."

While the primary criterion used by Goldman Sachs for membership of a developing nation in BRIC and N-11 is the size of its population, the firm also considers what it calls Growth Environment Score (GES) of each nation. The 13 variables which make up growth environment score are inflation, fiscal deficit, external debt, investment rate, openness of the economy, penetration of phones, penetration of personal computers, penetration of internet, average years of secondary education, life expectancy, political stability, rule of law and corruption.

Goldman Sachs has given Pakistan a low GES score which puts the country among the bottom third of Next-11 nations. However, this score is rising, and Goldman forecasts that Pakistan will be among the top 20 world economies by 2025.

Haq's Musings: Pakistan on Goldman's BRIC+ N11 Growth Map
 
First tight gas well producing 15 million cubic feet per day of natural gas is on line at Sajawal gas field in Kirthar block in Sindh province, according to a report in Express Tribune. This marks a major milestone in development of unconventional hydrocarbon energy sources in Pakistan. Sajawal gas field is located 110 km south east of Karachi, Pakistan. It puts Pakistan in an exclusive club of just a few nations producing unconventional natural gas.

Haq's Musings: Tight Gas Production Begins in Pakistan
 
I have never seen him posting the real source of news, rather than his own blog post.

Get Your Eyes Tested Than Read His Blog Carefully Instead Of Trolling.Nearly Everything He Mentions With Links and References
 
considering this is last years news , is there a follow on story which states any money was actually invested?

Sir.It Is Not As If These Reserves Will Go Online Overnight.I will Try To Find Out More But Here Is Something Latest

OGDCL awards contract for gas development


News Desk
Saturday, April 06, 2013
From Print Edition





ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) awarded contract for development of Kunar Pasakhi Deep and Tando Allah Yar field development project phase–II.

The project consists of gas gathering system, which will convert 250 million meter cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of raw gas into 225 mmcfd of pipeline quality gas, and is expected to be completed within the next 12 months.

KPD-TAY field is located in Sindh province and about 25 km from Hyderabad. OGDCL had commenced early production of 100-110 mmcf of raw gas on fast track basis through temporary facilities in order to combat the severe energy crisis in the country. This was declared as phase-I of the KPD.

Once completed, the project will deliver 225 mmcfd of shale gas, 5,100 billion barrels of condensate and 413 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas on a daily basis.

As the largest oil and gas company in Pakistan, OGDCL continues to strive to accelerate the production of its oil and gas fields on a fast track basis in order to overcome the energy needs of the masses.

After completion of this project, OGDCL will contribute substantial increase in gas, condensate and LPG in the national resources. OGDCL is committed to explore more areas of the country to meet the energy requirements of the country.

OGDCL awards contract for gas development - thenews.com.pk

Also A New Shale Gas Policy Has Been Approved

Cabinet approves shale gas policy - DAWN.COM
 
Shale gas reservoirs much higher than estimates: US EIA study



July 27, 2013 ABDUL RASHEED AZAD
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has estimated shale gas at 586 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) against its 2011 estimates of 52 Tcf for Pakistan. According to latest EIA study, the shale gas/oil reservoirs are much higher in Pakistan relative to what was estimated in the earlier studies/reports. The study estimates a total of 1,170 Tcf of risked shale gas in-place for India/Pakistan, 584 Tcf in India and 586 Tcf in Pakistan.

The risked technically recoverable shale gas resource is estimated at 201 Tcf, with 96 Tcf in India and 105 Tcf in Pakistan. In addition, the study estimates risked shale oil in-place for India/Pakistan of 314 billion barrels, with 87 billion barrels in India and 227 billion barrels in Pakistan. The risked technically recoverable shale oil resource is estimated at 12.9 billion barrels for these two countries, with 3.8 billion barrels for India and 9.1 billion barrels for Pakistan.

The EIA study has also revised shale gas global reservoir from 6,622 Tcf in 2011 to 7,299 Tcf in 2013, which indicates a 10 percent increase. The top six countries in terms of recoverable shale gas resources are US with estimated shale gas reservoirs at 1,161 Tcf, followed by China 1,115 Tcf, Argentina 802 Tcf, Algeria 707 Tcf, Canada 573 Tcf and Mexico 545 Tcf. The top five countries in terms of recoverable shale oil - Russia, the US, China, Argentina and Libya - account for 63 percent of the world's total.

ARI in compiling its "World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment" surveyed in-place and technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil in 95 shale basins and 137 shale formations in 41 countries and also included its other assessments of US shale gas and oil reserves from other research.

In Pakistan, the shale gas and oil assessment is restricted to the aerially extensive Central and Southern Indus basins, referred to as the Lower Indus Basin. The shales in this basin have sourced the significant volumes of conventional oil and gas discovered and produced in Pakistan. However, to date, no shale specific exploration has been publicly reported for Pakistan.

Within the overall prospective area of the Lower Indus Basin, the Sembar Shale has risked shale gas in-place of 531 Tcf, with 101 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource. In addition, the Sembar Shale has 145 billion barrels of shale oil in-place, with 5.8 billion barrels as the risked, technically recoverable shale oil resource. Within its 26,780-mi2 wet gas and condensate prospective area, the Ranikot Shale has resource concentrations of 17 Bcf/mi2 of wet gas and 25 million barrels/mi2 of shale oil/condensate. Within this prospective area of the Lower Indus Basin, the Ranikot Shale has 55 Tcf of risked shale gas in-place and 82 billion barrels of risked shale oil in-place. The risked, technically recoverable shale resources of the Ranikot Shale are 4 Tcf of wet shale gas and 3.3 billion barrels of shale oil/condensate. The shale gas exploration is highly technical and costly, therefore, in order to encourage its exploration, pilot projects are needed as well as huge foreign investment.

An official of the Petroleum Ministry when contacted said that keeping in view the huge shale gas/oil reservoirs in the country, the government in 2012 approved a new exploration policy, with improved incentives, as compared to the 2009 policy. Pakistan has offered higher prices for shale and tight gas to exploration companies, it is estimated that Pakistan would pay a maximum of $6.50/MMBtu.

Giving salient features of the expected shale gas policy the source said: "Exploration and Production (E&P) companies will be offered 40-50 percent higher prices for the extracted gas compared with the $4.26/mmbtu price announced in Exploration and Production Policy 2009. Companies which succeed in recovering gas from tight fields within two years would get 50 percent hike over the 2009 price and, if it takes more time, they will get only 40 percent hike on the 2009 price. As an added incentive, the leases for the fields will now be for 40 years, instead of 30 in the 2009 policy."

Extracting of shale and tight was a real challenge, since the cost and effort involved in extracting tight gas was quite different from conventional methods, but it had been commercially extracted in many parts of the world now and there were some tried and tested methods, he maintained.

The first ever tight gas Sales and Purchase Agreement was signed on November 13, 2012 in Islamabad for first production from a tight gas reservoir in Pakistan from Kirthar Block in Dadu, Sindh. The Kirthar Block is jointly owned by Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (70 percent) and PPL (30 percent). If exploration and extraction is on schedule, SSGC will receive 30mmcfd gas into its system through two Kirthar Block wells.

Apart from this, PPL in collaboration with ENI is set to start for the first time drilling of exploratory well in Sindh's deep sea in 2014. In this regard, around seven exploratory wells, eight appraisal wells, and 19 development wells have been planned for discovering shale and tight gas in Sindh in the next five years. Pakistan is particularly heavily dependent on natural gas for its energy needs. At present actual demand for gas is around 8 billion cubic feet (BCFD) per day, while managed demand is hovering around 6 BCFD against total supply of 4.3 BC

Shale gas reservoirs much higher than estimates: US EIA study | Business Recorder
 
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