Top Russian oil/gas exploration and production (E&P) companies are mulling to invest in the upstream and downstream oil/gas sector of Pakistan, officials from the Ministry of Petroleum said on Wednesday. According to the officials, following the massive investment of Chinese oil/gas firms in Pakistan, now Russians firms are keen to explore oil and gas reservoirs in the country.
"Pakistan offers most attractive return for all the E&P firms and we have just completed a study on shale oil/gas. Moreover, improved law and order situation in potentially oil/gas rich areas of Balochsitan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has also attracted international companies to invest in Pakistan," a senior official of Petroleum Ministry told Business Recorder. In a recent meeting with Director General Petroleum Concession (DGPC), a Russian delegation has offered Pakistan to provide latest technological services for tapping shale/gas as well as conventional gas reservoirs.
Russia and Pakistan are also in final stages of talks on a government-to-government contract of a $2.5 billion, 1,100-kilometre gas pipeline from Karachi to Lahore to be used for transporting imported Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). A leading Russian petroleum company, JGC Rosgeologia (Rosgeo), has recently signed two memorandum of understanding (MoU) with two public sector E&P companies for joint ventures.
One MoU was signed with state-owned Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) for E&P co-operation on broader terms within their blocks for mutual benefit in a bid to speed up exploratory activities in Pakistan and increase Russia-Pakistan co-operation. Both the companies under the MoU would cooperate on multiple factors including examining the possibility of "farm-in" and "farm-out" opportunities in existing exploration licenses and look into opportunities in development and production fields including opportunities related to the application of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) techniques.
The Russian company has assured of sharing expertise of processing and interpretation of 2D, 3D seismic data, formulation of strategies and providing necessary training to the OGDCL employees. The Russian company has also singed an MoU with the newly-created provincial oil/gas E7P Company of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Ltd (KPOGCL) for extending long-term co-operation in KP's E&P sector. The two firms would jointly bid for fresh exploration and concession blocks.
The joint venture would also carry out geological surveys within Pakistan, using the modern technologies and methods. The Russian company will be responsible for the technical planning and execution, arrangement of rigs, while KPOGCL will be responsible for security, logistics and transportation, gensets, earth moving equipment, cranes, tractors, camp facilities, local support manning, communication, local clearances, permits, licences, business development, etc.
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