OGDCL eyes 800-900 MMscfd shale gas production

ISLAMABAD:Pakistan could produce an estimated 800 to 900 million cubic feet of shale gas daily after Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) successfully completed the first phase of the country's maiden shale gas pilot project, paving the way for commercial viability testing.

According to industry sources, the progress of the landmark project was reviewed during a meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, where an OGDCL delegation led by Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Hayat Lak briefed the minister on the latest developments and the project's future roadmap.

During the briefing, the OGDCL team informed the minister that Pakistan possesses substantial shale gas resources and that the pilot project is aimed at exploring and exploiting these reserves in a sustainable and technically viable manner.

Sources said the first phase of the pilot project, involving vertical drilling, has been successfully completed, confirming both the presence of shale formations and the technical feasibility of their exploitation.

The company has now finalized plans for the second phase, which will determine the commercial viability of shale gas production through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The phase has been designed by a team of OGDCL experts with support from external technical specialists.

According to the project timeline, deployment of the drilling rig is scheduled for September 2026, while hydraulic fracturing operations are expected to commence in December 2026.

The pilot wells will be drilled in the Hyderabad and Sanghar districts, where the company aims to evaluate the commercial potential of Pakistan's shale gas resources.

OGDCL informed the minister that, if the pilot project proves commercially successful, Pakistan would enter the full-scale development phase, the industry sources said.

During the development stage, the company plans to drill 60 to 70 wells annually to achieve optimum production levels estimated at 800 to 900 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), a volume that could substantially increase indigenous gas supplies and help reduce reliance on imported energy.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik appreciated the efforts of OGDCL's technical professionals in advancing the country's first shale gas initiative and described the project as a potentially transformative development for Pakistan's energy sector.

He observed that successful commercial production of shale gas would contribute significantly to the country's energy security by utilizing indigenous resources while opening an entirely new segment of Pakistan's upstream petroleum industry.

The minister also directed the OGDCL management to prepare and present a comprehensive roadmap for the development of the country's tight gas resources, signaling the government's broader focus on accelerating exploration and production of unconventional hydrocarbons.

Industry sources also said that the successful development of shale gas resources could diversify Pakistan's domestic energy mix, strengthen long-term gas supplies and support the country's strategy to reduce dependence on costly imported fuels.