Pakistan can only progress under democratic setup: PM

• Khaqan Abbasi inaugurates large reservoir of oil, gas at Jhandial
• CM Shehbaz says discovery at Jhandial is large with high-quality hydrocarbons

JHANDIAL: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday said Pakistan could only progress and prosper under a democratic setup, as a technocrat and undemocratic forms of governance had failed to deliver in the past.

Addressing a ceremony after the inauguration of Jhandial Gas Field here near Fatehjang, he said the government would continue to pursue the dynamic policies of Nawaz Sharif and take the country forward on a path of progress and prosperity.

He said the people of Pakistan would decide in 2018 as to who could serve them better in the days ahead, and took the country forward.

The prime minister—who earlier held the portfolio of Minister for Petroleum—said the discovery at Jhandial was a very large discovery in Punjab, and hoped more successful discoveries would be possible in the near future.

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Defence Minister Khurrum Dastgir Khan, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sheikh Aftab and Minister of State for Petroleum Jam Kamal were present during the occasion.

Prime Minister Abbasi said Rs.15 billion had been invested in the Jhandial field by Pakistan Oil Fields and Attock Oil, and the discovery was made at 18500 feet—one of the deepest wells in the country. He said the gas field promised reserves of at least 292 billion standard cubic feet of gas and 23 million barrels of oil per annum. He said the field would produce 21 million cubic feet per day gas equivalent to the needs for Rawalpindi and Islamabad. He said the field would also produce 2,550 barrels per day and 50 tonnes LPG.

He hoped that the area around Jhandial and its people would benefit and prosper with the new discovery. He said all consumers of natural gas in the country whether they belonged to the industrial, commercial or domestic sectors were getting uninterrupted supply of gas.

He said the PML-N government was proud to have made significant successes in the fields of oil and gas, and 103 successful projects had been undertaken in the past four years. He said the achievements in the development sector in the past four years were many times more than those in the past 15 years. He said the present government, despite numerous challenges, had brought in 10,000MW of electricity to the national grid.

PM Abbasi also announced the provision of natural gas for the villages and towns in the vicinity of the gas field.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the discovery at Jhandial was large and had a high quality of hydrocarbons. He was appreciative of the hard work of the scientists and engineers who worked hard to make the project a success. He said the discovery, though in Punjab, was a discovery for the entire country.

The chief minister was also appreciative of the hard work put in by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who in his capacity as the petroleum minister pushed hard for the new successful discoveries.

He said all the federating units together were making Pakistan strong and prosperous. He said, “Pakistan, besides fully exploiting the natural resources, also needs to optimally use other sources of energy to meet the country’s energy needs.”

It is the first major discovery by the Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) in the last five years. Jhandial well is located in Ikhlas Block in Northern Potohar, about 83 kilometres southwest of Islamabad in Attock district. The Jhandial discovery is expected to contribute to the country’s energy sustainability while also having a positive impact on the future of exploratory efforts in the block and surrounding areas. The well will be connected to the production line in around a fortnight and will gradually attain full potential.

The POL holds 80 per cent share in the block, whereas the Attock Oil Company (AOC) has a 20 per cent share. The experts say the block from where the discovery has been made was located in a prospective but geologically complex area surrounded by a number of significant oil discoveries. The drilling of the deep exploratory well Jhandial-1 was proposed after acquisition and interpretation of 3D seismic data.

The prime minister was briefed about the new discovery. He was informed that the well was drilled to a total depth of 18,497 feet to test the Eocene and Paleocene carbonate reservoirs. During tests, a significant amount of hydrocarbons were discovered with flow rates of 21 million cubic feet of gas and 2,520 barrels of oil per day at choke size of 40/64 at wellhead flowing pressure of 3,768 psi.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity of the oil is around 40ø and the gas has a rich calorific value of 1,161 British Thermal Units per standard cubic feet of gas. The gas composition analysis indicates that it contains about 86 per cent methane, 7.2 per cent ethane and 2.9 per cent propane. The LPG content of the gas is about 2.5 metric tons per million cubic feet of gas.

PM PAYS TRIBUTES TO LATE MAULANA MUFTI MAHMOOD:

Earlier, at a launching ceremony of a commemorative postage stamp in the honour of late Maulana Mufti Mahmood in Islamabad, Abbasi paid rich tributes to him, saying he always tried to develop consensus on national issues. The stamp has been launched in recognition of his invaluable religious and political services.

PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi pays rich tributes to late Maulana Mufti Mahmood. pic.twitter.com/fFlkkYJNe6

— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) October 13, 2017

The prime minister said there might be shortcomings in the parliamentary democracy but with the passage of time, these are taken care of by the parliament itself.

He asked the Ministry of Postal Services to issue commemorative stamps in memory of other important personalities as well.

Speaking on the occasion, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman thanked the prime minister and postal services ministry for recognising Maulana Mufti Mahmood’s services and role in national affairs.