Pakistan Partners with Canadian Firm to Boost Domestic Heavy Crude Output

Pakistan's national Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, OGDC, has entered into an agreement with a Canadian firm to utilize advanced technology to increase production from heavy crude oilfields. The collaboration with Synergetic Oil Tools Inc involves deploying Passive Energy Tool technology, which aims to enhance flow assurance in highly viscous crude oil wells.

This technology optimizes fluid characteristics, reduces workovers, minimizes well downtime, lowers operating costs, and decreases the use of production chemicals.

Pakistan has been grappling with oil supply issues since the onset of the Iran war, despite its proximity to the Middle East and its role as a mediator in several U.S.-Iran talks. To mitigate its dependence on imports, Pakistan is striving to augment its domestic crude oil output. OGDC, the largest exploration and production firm in Pakistan, holds the largest exploration acreage and possesses the highest oil and gas reserves in the country.

The company currently generates approximately 166,497 barrels of oil equivalent per day, accounting for roughly half of Pakistan's domestic crude oil production, 28% of the country's natural gas, and 34% of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) output.

OGDC operates several key fields, including Qadirpur, Nashpa, Mela, KPD-TAY, and Bettani, and is continually expanding through new exploration blocks. In early 2023, OGDC announced an oil and gas discovery at its exploratory well Baragzai X-01 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Earlier this year, Pakistan also signed five deals for oil and gas exploration with local private and state-owned companies, which will develop three offshore and two onshore blocks.