Petroleum and Middle Indus Basin
Kohat-Potwar
Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
The first oil well drilled in present-day Pakistan was at Kundal on the Potwar Plateau in 1866. The first commercial oil discovery was made in the Greater Indus Basin in 1914 when the Attock Oil Company completed a 214 ft well on a thrust-faulted anticline near Khaur on the Potwar Plateau (Khan and others, 1986). Early success in the Kohat-Potwar geologic province served to focus much of the early exploration activity in that area. The Sui field in the Sulaiman-Kirthar Foreland geologic province was the first discovery outside of the Kohat-Potwar geologic province and is the largest gas discovery in Pakistan, with more than 5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves. Discovered in 1952, the Sui field is a dome-shaped reef structure with an anticlinal surface expression. The largest reserves were found in the 625 m thick Eocene Sui Formation Sui Main Limestone Member. The Sui Upper Limestone Member and upper Eocene Habib Rahi Limestone were also productive. In 1999, Upper Cretaceous Pab Sandstone Formation gas production began at Sui field. Although exploratory wells had been previously drilled in the Middle and Lower Indus Basins, the discovery of the Sui field accelerated exploration efforts in the 1950's.
More discoveries followed in that area with the Zin gas field in 1954, the Uch gas field in 1955, and the Mari gas field in 1957. Exploration activity increased again in the 1980's, when identification of a tilted fault block in the Lower Indus Basin led to the discovery of a series of oil fields. Although there have been significant oil discoveries in the Lower Indus Basin, it remains a gas-prone province. Gas discoveries that are attributed to the Sembar-Goru/Ghazij TPS have been made in Eocene, Paleocene, and Lower Cretaceous rocks on the Mari-Kandhot High in the Rajasthan Province of India. The Cambrian oil discoveries in Rajasthan, however, are beyond the extent of Sembar deposition and are either
Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
The first oil well drilled in present-day Pakistan was at Kundal on the Potwar Plateau in 1866. The first commercial oil discovery was made in the Greater Indus Basin in 1914 when the Attock Oil Company completed a 214 ft well on a thrust-faulted anticline near Khaur on the Potwar Plateau (Khan and others, 1986). Early success in the Kohat-Potwar geologic province served to focus much of the early exploration activity in that area. The Sui field in the Sulaiman-Kirthar Foreland geologic province was the first discovery outside of the Kohat-Potwar geologic province and is the largest gas discovery in Pakistan, with more than 5 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves. Discovered in 1952, the Sui field is a dome-shaped reef structure with an anticlinal surface expression. The largest reserves were found in the 625 m thick Eocene Sui Formation Sui Main Limestone Member. The Sui Upper Limestone Member and upper Eocene Habib Rahi Limestone were also productive. In 1999, Upper Cretaceous Pab Sandstone Formation gas production began at Sui field. Although exploratory wells had been previously drilled in the Middle and Lower Indus Basins, the discovery of the Sui field accelerated exploration efforts in the 1950's.
More discoveries followed in that area with the Zin gas field in 1954, the Uch gas field in 1955, and the Mari gas field in 1957. Exploration activity increased again in the 1980's, when identification of a tilted fault block in the Lower Indus Basin led to the discovery of a series of oil fields. Although there have been significant oil discoveries in the Lower Indus Basin, it remains a gas-prone province. Gas discoveries that are attributed to the Sembar-Goru/Ghazij TPS have been made in Eocene, Paleocene, and Lower Cretaceous rocks on the Mari-Kandhot High in the Rajasthan Province of India. The Cambrian oil discoveries in Rajasthan, however, are beyond the extent of Sembar deposition and are either