#Pakistan confirms it has 105 trillion cubic ft #shale gas, 58 billion barrels of shale oil reserves #energy
Shale gas, oil reserves outweigh conventional stock, study reveals - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
Pakistan has confirmed recoverable reserves of around 200 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas and around 58 billion barrels of oil in its shale structure — many times larger than existing conventional gas reserves of around 20 TCF and 385 million barrels of oil.
This was stated by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi at a press conference held here on Thursday to explain main findings of a recently concluded Shale Gas Study based on actual data of existing wells.
“The conclusion (of the study) is that Pakistan has huge potential of shale gas and oil which is much bigger than previous estimates of the United States Energy Information Administration (USEIA) and technology is available at home to produce this resource,” he said.
Also read: Oil and gas reserves found in Mianwali
Mr Abbasi said the country had a massive potential of 10,159 TCF shale gas and 2.3tr barrels of oil. He said the USEIA had reported in April 2011 the presence of 206 TCF shale gas in lower Indus Basin out of which 51 TCF was termed technically recoverable.
However, in June 2013 the USEIA revised the shale gas resource in Pakistan at 586 TCF in place out of which 105 TCF was tipped as risked technically recoverable and also included 9.1bn barrels of shale oil risked technically recoverable out of 227bn barrels shale oil in place.
He said a shale gas study initiated in January 2014 with the support of USAID had been completed. It proved that Pakistan had 10,159 TCF of shale gas resource and 2,323bn barrels of shale oil.
He said the findings were reached when recoverable data of 1,611 wells were collected and shale formation of 1,312 wells through drill was examined. The study covered lower and middle Indus Basin, geographically spread over Sindh, southern Punjab and eastern Balochistan. He said 70 per cent of wells data were used to develop the study.
The minister said the samples were sent to New Tech Laboratory in Houston to verify shale gas and oil resource in place. The study confirmed that Pakistan had the potential of shale gas and oil which was more than expectations.
He said Pakistan had the technology for exploring conventional oil and gas that could be used for exploiting shale oil and gas. However, the country requires more technology for exploiting shale oil and gas resource on a larger scale. He said that real challenges were environmental issues, availability of water and higher cost of drilling. He said one well required 3-8m barrels of water.
Shale gas will cost $10 per Million British Thermal Unit. “We have assigned OGDCL and PPL to explore shale gas and oil from one well to determine cost of extracting them.”
Responding to a question, Mr Abbasi said the natural gas would be available only for domestic consumers in Punjab and even they would not get it between 10pm and 5am. The demand of gas in domestic sector in Punjab is about 950mmcfd, but supplies will be around 650 mmcfd and the difference would need to be met through pressure management.
He said the power plants and fertiliser units would be run on LNG. “CNG sector may also get LNG if supply is available,” he said, adding that captive power plants would also be switched to LNG.
In reply to another question, he said a transparent process had been followed in awarding LNG contract and all required information and record were provided to the National Accountability Bureau. “I have been engaged personally in process of LNG and, therefore, take full responsibility and am available for any questioning or accountability,” he said.
He said that a summary had also been moved to the Council of Common Interests to approve regulation of LPG prices to provide relief to consumers but the CCI had not met for 10 months.
#Pakistan has 10,159 trillion cubic feet of #shale gas & 3.2 trillion barrels of shale oil reserves: #USAID #energy
http://tribune.com.pk/story/994883/...an-has-10159-tcf-of-shale-gas-deposits-usaid/ …
Pakistan has massive deposits of 10,159 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of shale gas and 2.3 trillion barrels of oil – estimates that are several times higher than figures given by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), reveals a study conducted with the help of US Agency for International Development (USAID).
EIA had reported in April 2011 that 206 tcf of shale gas was present in the lower Indus Basin, of which 51 tcf were technically recoverable.
However, in June 2013, EIA revised the estimate upwards to 586 tcf, of which 105 tcf were tipped as technically recoverable. Apart from gas, EIA also saw the presence of 9.1 billion barrels of shale oil that were technically recoverable out of the estimated deposits of 227 billion barrels.
Speaking at a press conference, Petroleum and Natural Resources Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said the study was undertaken with the support of USAID in January 2014, and was completed in November this year.
He said the study confirmed that Pakistan had 10,159 tcf of shale gas and 2,323 billion barrels of oil reserves.
“Risked technically recoverable resource is 95 trillion cubic feet of shale gas and 14 billion barrels of shale oil,” Abbasi said, adding the data of 1,611 wells had been collected and shale formation of 1,312 wells was done through drilling.
He said 70% of data was used to develop the study and samples were sent to the New Tech laboratory in Houston, US for assessment. “Pakistan has the potential to produce shale gas and oil, which is more than expectations,” he remarked.
Abbasi insisted that the technology in Pakistan for exploring conventional oil and gas deposits could also be used for extracting shale reserves. Still, more technology was required for producing shale oil and gas on a large scale.
He cited environmental issues, provision of water and high cost of drilling as the real challenges. A well requires 3 to 8 million barrels of water.
“We have water but the real issue is its disposal,” he said, adding shale gas would cost $10 per million British thermal units. However, the cost will come down with the increase in recovery of untapped deposits.
He said the world was exploring shale gas and oil and Pakistan also wanted to harness that potential. “We have asked OGDC (Oil and Gas Development Company) and PPL (Pakistan Petroleum Limited) to extract shale gas and oil from a well in order to determine its cost.”
A policy for shale deposits will be formulated after the cost of drilling is determined.
According to Abbasi, Pakistan has 20 trillion cubic feet of conventional gas and 385 million barrels of oil. “Gas is enough to meet the needs for 15 years at the existing pace of production,” he said.
Adviser to Ministry of Petroleum Zaid Muzaffar revealed that OGDC was working on one conventional gas well in a bid to find shale gas and oil. “We hope it will get results in two to three months.”
A well needs $2 to $3 million of additional cost to reach the shale reserves.
Gas supply in winter
Abbasi said gas would be available in Punjab to domestic consumers only and liquefied natural gas (LNG) would be consumed to run power and fertiliser plants.
Compressed natural gas (CNG) stations may get LNG if it was available and captive power plants would also be switched to this fuel, he said.
The minister stressed that the petroleum ministry had followed a transparent process in the award of LNG contract. It has provided all information to the National Accountability Bureau, which has asked for a presentation.
He revealed that the ministry had sent a summary to the Economic Coordination Committee for deregulating oil prices, but it was turned down. “We are looking at the petroleum situation again to assess whether it should be deregulated or not.”
