Mari’s production expansion to boost fertilizer sector

Mari Energies Ltd (PSX: MARI) is positioning itself to become one of the most consequential winners from Pakistan’s latest attempt to reshape how scarce domestic gas is allocated – and the knock-on effects could extend far beyond the exploration and production (E&P) sector.

A new allocation framework centred on Mari’s Mari Field reservoirs, combined with infrastructure build-out over the next two to three years, is expected to lift flows from Mari’s key formations to more than 1,050mmcfd, from an estimated 850–900mmcfd today. For fertiliser makers, the promise is simple: fewer abrupt disruptions and less dependence on stop-start gas arrangements that have repeatedly complicated production planning. For Mari, it is something else entirely: volume growth of roughly 20% and a step-change in earnings power if those additional molecules reach paying industrial customers.

In a note analysing the policy shift, Topline Securities said Mari has secured approval for gas allocation from its Ghazij/Shawal discoveries in the Mari Field at wellhead prices notified by OGRA under Petroleum Policy 2012. The gas is expected to be transported to end-users through the Sui companies’ network under Third-Party Access (TPA) Rules 2018, with wheeling charges applied.