*ISLAMABAD*: The government is in the process of finalising a policy toexploit massive shale gas and oil reserves that were identified after astudy completed in collaboration with the USAID some four years ago.
“Shale gas policy is being prepared for onward submission and approval ofthe quarters concerned,” a senior official in the Petroleum Division toldAPP on Friday.
In 2015, he said, a study, completed in collaboration with the USAID, hadconfirmed the presence of 10,159 trillion cubic feet (TCF) shale gas and2,323 billion stock tank barrels (BSTB) shale oil in place resources.
The second phase of the study would be launched in other potential areas toassess the sedimentary rock-based fuel reserves in the country, he added.
He said after the identification of the deposits, a task had been given tothe Oil and Gas Development Company Limited and the Pakistan PetroleumLimited to undertake the pilot project(s) in potential areas to assess thecost of extracting shale gas and oil. “However, the project has not beenlaunched to date.”
According to the study, there were 188TCF gas and 58BSTB technicallyrecoverable oil resources, while the risked technically recoverableresources stood at 95TCF gas and 14BSTB oil.
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The study covered lower and middle Indus Basin, which geographicallyspreads over Sindh, southern parts of Punjab and eastern parts ofBalochistan.
The total area under the study was 271,700km, which is 33pc of the totalsedimentary area of the country.
During the study, a detailed analysis of 124 wells was carried out,including laboratory analysis on shale cores and cuttings in the UnitedStates. Objectives of the study were to validate shale gas resourceestimate, initial findings, assess the availability of required technologyand infrastructure for shale gas operations and formulate guidelines forthe shale gas policy.
Following the discovery, a dedicated shale gas and oil centre had beenestablished at the Petroleum House to facilitate interested exploration andproduction companies to exploit the potential.
