First Shale gas, oil well to be drilled in December.

ISLAMABAD -- The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has planned to start drilling activities in potential areas of Sindh in December this year for exploration of Shale gas and oil deposits identified almost five years ago, which would also help determine the cost of fuel extraction.

'In pursuit of the Shale gas exploration, the company is working to drill the first-ever unconventional Shale gas well in December at a fast track. Following which, the OGDCL Board and its management are also planning to carry out back to back drilling at nine more Shale wells,' a senior official privy to petroleum sector developments told reporter.

A study completed in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development, covering lower and middle Indus Basin, had identified massive Shale gas and oil reserves in 2015.

The report confirmed presence of 10,159 trillion cubic feet (TCF) Shale gas and 2,323 billion of stock tank barrels (BSTB) Shale oil in place resources.

After identification of the deposits, a task had been given to OGDCL and Pakistan Petroleum Limited to undertake pilot project(s) in potential areas to assess the cost of extracting Shale gas and oil, delayed due to certain reasons.

According to the study, there are 188TCF gas and 58 BSTB oil technically...