The state-owned Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) confirmed on Tuesday that it has found massive reserves of natural gas in Balochistan. The company said that, as the operator of Jandran Exploration Licence, it has discovered gas from its exploratory well Jandran X-04, which geographically falls in District Barkhan of Balochistan.
The company said that the well was drilled down a depth of 1200 meters, vastly shallower than the average gas discovery depth of 4500 meters in the world. This discovery at such a short depth indicates that the company has tapped into a massive, inexhaustible reservoir of cherished natural gas.
OGDCL said that after a drill stem test, it found that the well could easily supply 7.08 million cubic feet of natural gas and 0.55 barrels or gas condensate per day.
“The discovery Jandran X-04 is the result of aggressive exploration strategy adopted by the Company. It has opened a new avenue and would add to the hydrocarbon reserves of OGCDL and the country.”
Despite being a rugged, mountainous terrain, Balochistan accommodates humongous reservoirs of natural resources. Its mountains house limestone, coal, Iron ore, Chromite, Sulfur and numerous other industrial raw materials. Furthermore, it also houses two of the largest mines of Copper and Gold in the world: Reko Diq and Sandak.
But despite all the resources Balochistan is bestowed with, it remains one of the poorest regions of Asia. With an estimated population of 12 million, Balochistan has the weakest education, health, judicial and social structure in the region. In many remote areas of Balochistan, people lack the basic facilities of life, like electricity, clean drinking water, education, a healthy diet and even a decent item of clothing. Almost all the money extracted from Balochistan goes to pay the international companies mining in there, and a little bit that is left goes on to feed the more developed provinces of Balochistan, like Punjab and Sindh.
The recent discovery in Barkhan is not the first discovery of its kind; the OGDCL has discovered similar gas reservoirs in the past in other areas of Balochistan, like Musa Khel and Kalat. But because Balochistan receives none of the resources it supplies to Pakistan, Baloch “pro-independent” groups have repeatedly targeted exploration companies in Balochistan.
In October last year, the Baloch Raj Aajoi Sanga (BRAS), an umbrella organization of several “pro-independent” organizations, attacked an FC convoy carrying OGDCL personnel in Ormara, Gwadar. 14 people were killed in the attack.
BRAS later said in a media statement that the Baloch are the heirs of the resources in Balochistan, and only they will decide how to use these resources. Any foreign company that cooperates with Pakistan to mine the resources in Balochistan will be dealt with in a harsh manner, it said.