ExxonMobil acquires 25% stake in offshore drilling in Pakistan

[ejaz007]

Good news. We need to start offshore drilling activities to increase production and reduce energy imports.

 

[qamar1990]

ExxonMobil acquires 25% stake in offshore drilling in Pakistan

A study would be conducted in the potential areas allocated to the four companies before undertaking drilling activities. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: In a major development, US energy giant ExxonMobil has acquired 25% shareholding in offshore drilling in Pakistan.

Earlier, Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) and Italian energy firm Eni had 33% stake each in offshore drilling in the country. Now, ExxonMobil has acquired 25% shareholding, reducing the share of all partner companies to 25% each.

An agreement in that regard was signed at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat on Monday among ExxonMobil, Government Holdings Private Limited (GHPL), PPL, Eni and OGDC.

ExxonMobil has vast experience of offshore drilling for the search of hydrocarbons and it will help boost efforts of partner companies for oil and gas exploration in the country.

Offshore drilling has brought a revolution in the US oil and gas market and even shaken the monopoly of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) – a global grouping of major oil producers and exporters.

A new technology in offshore drilling is a major reason behind the boost to shale oil and gas exploration and officials believe ExxonMobil will help bring state-of-the-art technology to Pakistan. The company has been working on oil and gas exploration in different countries and Pakistan has now become part of its expansion plan.

“An agreement has been signed with ExxonMobil that will acquire 25% shares in offshore drilling in Pakistan,” GHPL Managing Director Mobin Saulat told The Express Tribune.

Another official said a study would be conducted in the potential areas allocated to the four companies before undertaking drilling activities.

In its first assessment, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) estimated that Pakistan had massive deposits of 10,159 trillion cubic feet of shale gas and 2.3 trillion barrels of shale oil – figures that were several times higher than those released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

According to the EIA assessment in April 2011, Pakistan had 206 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the lower Indus Basin, of which 51 trillion cubic feet were recoverable. However, in June 2013, it revised the estimate upwards to 586 trillion cubic feet, of which 105 trillion cubic feet were technically recoverable.

Apart from this, the EIA saw the presence of 9.1 billion barrels of shale oil that were technically recoverable out of estimated deposits of 227 billion barrels.

In its study, the USAID collected data of 1,611 wells, used 70% of data to prepare the study and sent samples to New Tech Laboratory in Houston for assessment.

Though technology is available in advanced countries for tapping shale reserves, environmental concerns, requirement of a huge quantity of water and high cost of drilling are real challenges. A well requires three to eight million barrels of water. Pakistan has water supplies, but the real issue is its disposal.

Estimates suggest shale gas will cost $10 per million British thermal units, which will come down with the increase in recovery of untapped reserves.

pakistan shouldnt bring foreign energy companies into our country... even if they do dont give them ownership of anything.

 

[kill_me]

WTF!!!!!!!

Why Exxonmobil?

DO you know the history of exxonmobile in Pakistan?

 

[ARMalik]

This is an extremely terrible decision. Don't these monkeys know that most Global Oil companies are actually owned by Rothschilds and Rockefellers - the biggest evils on this planet, and sponsors of Zionists?

 

[tarrar]

Why are they here??

 

[ziaulislam]

I work for an oil company owned by ExxonMobil. Best company to work the safest in business by far anywhere in the world!

why would it acquire stakes in Pakistan..when other companies are selling their stake

 

[Shahzaz ud din]

why would it acquire stakes in Pakistan..when other companies are selling their stake

Why are they here??

They are here because they have technology and they know PAK has third highest deposits of shale oil and gas in the world.The previous study which was completed in 2015 in cooperation with USAID has confirmed the presence of 10,159 trillion cubic feet (TCF) Shale gas and 2,323 billions of stock tank barrels (BSTB) Shale oil in place resources.No body knows about the latest details in this regard. Previous study covered lower and middle Indus Basin which geographically spread over Sindh, southern parts of Punjab and eastern parts of Balochistan .Total area under the study was 271,700 kilometers, which is only 33 percent of total sedimentary area of the country.Under this program,analysis of only 124 wells were carried out including laboratory analysis on Shale Cores and Cuttings in the United States.

 

[BATMAN]

Good news. Pakistan is in dire need of foreign investment

Bad news... providing Pakistan lacks regulations on how technical businesses be conducted and what industrial and professional standards should be complied.

American presence in Arabian sea is anyway bad sign for Pakistan.

US may be spying or trying to drill in some nukes to destabilize the ground, resulting in earth quakes etc.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

There is a direct relation between Earth Quakes and shale drilling last thing we want is a Tsunami threat on coastline

 

[bafxet]

Bad news... providing Pakistan lacks regulations on how technical businesses be conducted and what industrial and professional standards should be complied.

American presence in Arabian sea is anyway bad sign for Pakistan.

US may be spying or trying to drill in some nukes to destabilize the ground, resulting in earth quakes etc.

I don't mind if we can develop it from our own resources...can we? Obviously it can't be left untapped.

 

[BATMAN]

I don't mind if we can develop it from our own resources...can we? Obviously it can't be left untapped.

Apparently you didn't read my post fully!
How do we ensure, contractual obligations are fulfilled? Do we have expertise there? I can say this with conviction... contract with exxon mobil is concluded by some corrupt secretary, who don't know abc of this business, but he has his family & kith kins granted US visa, so exxon mobil won the contract. While all activity has nothing to do with tapping of resources!