After Maari Petroleum, PPL also announced the discovery of new gas reserves in Sindh. Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) was formed in 1950 with the main objective of exploration and production of oil and natural gas.

It says that new gas reservoir has been discovered in Latif block of Khairpur district (Sindh). Drilling of the well was started on May 5, 2024 and as per the target depth of 3438 meters was drilled. From which 11.27 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf) of gas will be obtained.  About 35% of the energy requirement in Pakistan is met by gas. Gas is used as fuel in factories, vehicles and homes which is still scarce. Pre-existing Sui gas reserves are rapidly depleting.  Discovery of new reserves is encouraging in this scenario. The latest discovery will add more hydrocarbon reserves and help increase local hydrocarbon supply in the country and reduce gas demand.  Pakistan has significant reserves of natural gas which are mostly located in the provinces of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  Gas is being extracted from 13 places in Sindh.

Large deposits of oil and gas have also been discovered in Karak and Dera Ismail Khan. Maari Petroleum, one of Pakistan’s largest energy and exploration companies, informed the stock exchange two days ago of the discovery of new gas reserves in the Ghazi Formation in Sindh, which will yield five million mmscf of gas per day.  The Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) has also resumed production from the Nashpachar well located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which will significantly reduce the country’s import bill by $59.85 million. We can manage a declining economy by harnessing our natural resources. Gas is the most important source of energy in Pakistan and accounts for 31% of the total demand. depends on local production and imports.  According to experts, behind the gas crisis in Pakistan and the severity prevailing in it is the increase in its price in the world market with the continuous decline in domestic production, while billions of tons of coal in the land.  Currently, there is no cheaper source for domestic and industrial consumers. From time to time, the nation receives good news about the discovery of new oil and gas reserves, but the matter does not go beyond that.  Delivery of imported gas from overseas countries by cargo. And it is possible through the pipeline from the neighboring and nearby countries, in which the latter is better and feasible in all respects.  Agreements have been signed with Turkmenistan and Iran for many years, the completion of which will provide uninterrupted 24-hour cheap gas to domestic and industrial consumers.  As soon as possible, the government should complete this project without any delay.

 Pakistan is rich in oil and gas, but serious efforts should be made to find them. On the other hand, the government should initiate steps to focus on news gas discoveries so that gas resources can be increased and the supply issues can be overcome. At time when the country is faced with unprecedented energy woes, the common man is in dire situation. One wonder as to where do we go. It is fact that Pakistan is blessed with countless deposits of oil, natural gas, coal but the same has not been exploited in real of the word. As a matter of fact, the energy resources play an important role in promoting rapid economic and industrial development. Internal and external companies are also exploring oil, gas and other mineral deposits in the homeland.  We used to hear about new gas deposits and last year in May when we heard that despots have been  discovered in Kirthar block of Dadu district of Sindh. Initially, this well will yield 7.8 mmscf of gas per day. Recently, large oil and gas reserves have also been discovered in Waziristan, Kirk and Dera Ismail Khan regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from which 39.12 million cubic feet of gas and 1840 barrels of oil can be extracted per day. Before this, apart from Sui, gas is being extracted from 13 places in Sindh and Potohar. Discovery and exploitation of new reserves will help reduce dependence on oil and gas imports and save valuable foreign exchange.  It may be mentioned here that an estimated forty percent of our energy requirement are met from indigenous gas mainly from Balochistan and Sindh.  Our main industry like cement and in generation and manufacturing of various products, chemical fertilizer, thermal power generation apart from general factories, the sued of gas is the main factor.  On the other hand, the dependence on gas from Sui and Balochistan is decreased and now it is mainly met by Sindh which can be gauged from the available statistics. According to an estimate, the ratio of gas production is 70% in Sindh, 12% in Balochistan, 10% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 8% in Punjab, so we need to focus on gas exploration in Sindh in particular. After the painful increase in gas prices across the country by 200% from November 1, 2023 and 67% on February 1, 2024, this trend has not stopped, domestic and industrial consumers will have to bear a new burden of 147% increase from July 1, 2024.  The increase in gas prices has so far burdened the consumers to the tune of 643 billion rupees. Behind the possible increase to be implemented from July 2024 is the shortfall of 79 billion 63 crores of Sui Southern Gas Company and 189 billion 18 crores of Sui Northern, which is mainly due to large-scale theft of gas.  On the other hand, the demand for continuous increase in energy prices by the IMF is coming out on the occasion of the release of each installment, while no concrete strategy has come out so far to stop its wastage and theft and all the losses are due to the regular bill payers. The common man, who is already reeling from high electricity prices and steep hikes, is having to cope with inflation rising to over 28% due to hikes in diesel and petrol prices alone, with the new gas prices adding to it. In this situation, instead of putting more financial burden on the consumers, the IMF should be taken into confidence and an alternative solution should be found which will not affect the common man.