Mari Petroleum successfully drills appraisal well in Sindh

Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MARI), one of Pakistan’s largest energy and exploration companies, has successfully drilled and tested the appraisal well Mari Ghazij-l, located in Mari D&PL, Sindh.

The company shared the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.

Back in January, the E&P company discovered gas at its exploratory well Mari Ghazij-l, located in Mari D&PL.

“As part of the appraisal plan of the discovery, MARI has successfully drilled and tested the appraisal well Mari Ghazij-2 in Mari D&PL area,” the company shared in its notice.

It is pertinent to note that appraisal wells are drilled to assess the characteristics of a proven petroleum reserve such as flow rate.

MARI is the operator of Mari D&PL with 100% working interest.

“The well was spud in on September 11, 2023, and successfully drilled down to a depth of 1,016 meters. The post-acid gas flow rate was 11.1 million standard cubic feet per day with wellhead flowing pressure of 519 pounds per square inch at 64/64 inch choke size,” the company said.

MARI said that Ghazij-2 is the first well in a series of planned appraisal wells to evaluate the Ghazij-l discovery and determine its extent. “The well will be put on extended well testing in due course for the supply of gas to government designated buyer, after completion of requisite regulatory formalities,” the company shared.

Last month, the Directorate General Mines & Minerals Balochistan granted an Exploration License (EL-186) and allotted an area of 501 sq. km to MARI for mineral exploration near Dalbandin, District Chagai, Balochistan.

The company back then said that the grant was in line with its strategy to “diversify into near core areas and its commitment to contributing to the growth of the mineral mining sector of Pakistan”.

As per MARI’s latest financial results, the company’s net sales and net profit recorded an impressive growth of 53% and 70% year-on-year and stood at the historically highest levels of Rs145.7 billion and Rs56.1 billion, respectively, during the fiscal year 2022-23.

The net profit would have been Rs64.7 billion without the provision of a 10% super tax. Growth in net profit was reflected in EPS, which also reached the historically highest level of Rs420.75 per share from Rs247.8 per share of the previous year.