Besides its exploratory efforts and focus on early monetization of new discoveries, MPCL is committed to maximizing production from its producing fields to meet Pakistan’s energy requirements from indigenous resources. Executed during the worst of COVID-related restrictions, the USD 250 million SGPC project was completed in record time in the face of adversities including extremely hostile weather, pandemic-related restrictions, supply chain disruptions, and forexrelated challenges for the import of critical equipment and material.
Overcoming these challenges, the company completed Phase-1 of SGPC in March 2022 with an initial production of around 20 MMSCFD of sales gas from the Tipu compartment of Mari Deep for supply to SNGPL, while Phase-II was completed in December 2022, with an initial supply of 50 MMSCFD, which was gradually ramped-up to around 100 MMSCFD.
The processed gas from SGPC is being injected into the SNGPL network through MPCL’s own, 20- inch diameter, 25-kilometer-long cross-country gas transmission pipeline, constructed in 2021.
This pipeline has provided MPCL connectivity with the national grid and the company is able to inject gas from Mari Field into the SNGPL network for the first time via its own infrastructure. This is another strategic achievement by the company.
Mari Gas Field’s producing reservoirs are classified into shallow (HRL, SML/SUL, PKL, Ghazij) and deep (Goru-B including Tipu). The deeper formations of the Field remained unexplored until the company drilled Mari Deep-1 (MD-1) in July 1997. Encouraged by the results, the second MD well was drilled in February 1998.
The new discovery was named Goru-B and several development wells were drilled based on the 2D seismic. In November 2017, the Tipu compartment of Goru-B reservoir was discovered, which was followed by successful Tipu-2 appraisal well.
Under the appraisal program, six deep wells were drilled, four of which produced gas. The detailed reservoir study conducted by a US based specialist consultant revealed total gas reserves of about 1.9 TCF.
Over the years, the company explored different options to utilize this gas, including: raw gas supply to power plants, mixing Goru-B gas with HRL gas to bring down the CO2 content, and processing of this gas to convert it into pipeline quality gas.
Eventually, the processing of gas to pipeline specification option was selected, leading to the setting-up of the SGPC plant.
With a current supply capacity of over 100 MMSCFD of pipeline specification gas, SGPC has added about 5% gas to Pakistan’s indigenous production and is helping save substantial foreign exchange of over US$ 300 million per annum, through LNG import substitution.
The addition of SGPC has pushed the company’s total daily sales gas production over 850 MMSCF, making it a leading gas producer in the country.
SGPC is a momentous development in the company’s history and embodies our long-term vision for the Mari Gas Field. It is the largest development project undertaken by the company to date, involving significant investment, and has been executed safely in line with the best engineering and HSE practices while overcoming multiple challenges. It will not only help develop and optimally exploit deeper reservoirs of Mari Field but will also significantly enhance the company’s processed gas production capacity to help meet the ever-increasing natural gas demand in the country.
SGPC has been made possible with out-of-the-box thinking of MPCL’s Projects, Operations, and Commercial teams, who executed multiple activities simultaneously, finalized the commercial agreements, secured requisite regulatory approvals, and expeditiously concluded the construction, commissioning, and performance testing of the plant, to bring additional volumes of gas into the national grid at the earliest.