In a high-level meeting held at the office of Chief Secretary KP here in Peshawar, Naveed Kamran Baloch directed the district administration of Hanguto ensure the work to bring Mardankhel – 3 well online is initiated within the coming few days
PESHAWAR (Pakistan Point News - 07th February, 2019) In a high-level meeting held at the office of Chief Secretary KP here in Peshawar, Naveed Kamran Baloch directed the district administration of Hanguto ensure the work to bring Mardankhel – 3 well online is initiated within the coming few days. The meeting was called on the directives of the prime minister so that the issue of Mardankhel-3 could be resolved at the earliest. All the relevant stakeholders were in attendance including senior representatives from MOL Group, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and the District Commissioner of Hangu.
It is pertinent to mention here that Mardankhel – 3 well has a potential to deliver 12.5 MMSCFD when it was tested by MOL Pakistan Oil and Gas Co. B.V, an international upstream oil and gas company operating in KP since 1999. Mardankhel-3 promises to widely redress the energy crisis in the country. The Chief Secretary acknowledged the efforts of MOL as an international upstream entity in the region, and extended his full support to having problems related to Mardankhel-3 addressed on priority.
It was explained to the chief secretary that after successful drilling of the well by MOL Pakistan in March 2017, rig demobilization was forcefully stopped by locals for natural gas provision. An operation was therefore carried out by law enforcing agencies in which 70,000 rounds of fire were shot by the Police, with 7-8 people injured on the spot. The project has been stalled since then, and the well still remains to be connected to the national grid.
In order to highlight the importance of having the well brought online at the earliest, the Regional Vice President of MOL Group, Mr. Ali Murtaza Abbas stated: “Apart from supplying 25% of the hydrocarbon requirements of the country, we paid approximately USD 110 million in royalty and USD 300 million in taxes to the Government of Pakistan last year; so when one of our projects such as Mardankhel-3 suffers, the country suffers as a result.
” He also reiterated that MOL Pakistan would keep contributing to welfare projects in the area in line with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitments. On the occasion, the General Manager SNGPL stated that once work on the pipeline is kicked off, it can be completed within a month. The pipeline that would connect the well to the Central Processing Facility, and subsequently to the main SNGPL lines, will stretch up to seven kilometres and pass through 17 villages of Hangu. Mr. Abbas lauded the prime minister’s keen interest in ensuring the timely tie-in of Mardankhel-3 and appreciated the chief secretary for his eagerness to resolve the issue.He also thanked all the stakeholders involved. The commissioner of Kohat and the secretary Energy& Power were also present on the occasion.
