December 2013 Edition
PETRO-NEWS
Linking the Energy World
IN THIS ISSUE
2
Technical Training of Local Youth in
partnership with the Hunar Foundation
3
Augmentation of MAKORI EPF
4
Rules of Business
5
3rd Health Safety Environment (HSE)
Conference -2013
6
Pictorial Coverage 2011-13
8
Industrial News (World Wide)
9
SSGC’s media campaigns advocate gas
conservation and refraining from
gas theft to avoid heavy penalties
10
Energy Security through Responsible
Self Reliance
12
US-Pakistan trade mission elicits potential
investor interest
PIP
to
Taking
Dizzier Heights of
Success
PIP Board of Directors
Dr. Asim Hussain – Chairman
Mr. Muhammad Aslam Sanjrani - CEO
Mr. Asim Murtaza Khan - PPL
Mr. Tariq Khamisani - UEPL
Mr. M. Arif Hameed - SNGPL
Mr. Aftab Husain- PRL
Mr. Omar Yaqoob Sheikh - SHELL
Mr. S. Tariq Rizavi - PARCO
Mr. Sh. Imran-ul-Haque - EVTL
Mr. Hassan Sobuctageen - FOTCO
Mr. Mobin Saulat – ISGS
Mr. M. Adil Khattak – ARL
Mr. Zuhair Siddiqui – SSGC
Mr. Amjad Parvez Janjua – PSO
Mr. Muhammad Riaz Khan – OGDCL
PIP’s 50th
Annual General Meeting
From (L to R) Mr. M. Aslam Sanjrani, CEO-PIP, Mr. Aftab Husain, MD-PRL,
Mr. Asim Murtaza Khan, MD-PPL, Mr. Tariq Khamisani, President-UEPL,
Mr. S. Tariq Rizavi, MD-PARCO.
The 50th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Petroleum Institute of Pakistan
was held on December 19, 2013 at Pearl Continental Hotel, Karachi. The
meeting was chaired by Mr. Asim Murtaza Khan, Managing Director & Chief
Executive Officer, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) and it was commenced with a
recitation of the Holy Quran by Mr. Muhammad Aslam Sanjrani, Chief
Executive Officer, Petroleum Institute of Pakistan (PIP) who also presented the
updates on PIP’s activities for the information of the members.
The agenda of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) was then successfully
undertaken which included the following:
1- To confirm the minutes of the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EOGM)
held on March 18, 2013 at the Sheraton Hotel, Karachi
2- To receive and adopt Report of Directors and Auditors together with
audited financial statements of the Institute for the year ended June 30,
2013.
3- To appoint M/s. A.F. Ferguson & Co. as Auditors of the Institute for the year
2013-2014 and to fix their remuneration of Rs: 88,000/- per annum.
The chairman thanked the directors and members for attending the meeting.
There being no other item on the agenda, the meeting was closed with a vote
of thanks to the chair.
Technical Training
of Local Youth in partnership with the Hunar Foundation
United Energy Pakistan (UEP) is an exploration and production
company operating across 9 districts of Sindh province.
Development indicators in the concession districts are, much like
the rest of the rural landscape, quite poor. Educational facilities
that exist, struggle to cater to the local demand in terms of
population as well as quality of education imparted. Many
educated youngsters are unemployed and lack necessary skills
that can generate sufficient income. As a major business working
in the area UEP does its best to address local issues with the
allocated budget it earmarks for its CSR contribution. A well
thought out and robust philosophy governs all CSR and Social
Investment projects. One of the three key areas the company
chooses to focus on is building the capacity of local youth to
enable them to improve income generation.
UEP, in partnership with The Hunar Foundation has initiated a
programme for young members of the local community from its
concession area at Post-Matriculation or Intermediate level. This
project focuses on Mechanical and Electrical disciplines. UEP
sponsors this year-long technical & vocational training course for
40 individuals from its Badin & Mirpurkhas Khipro (MKK)
concession blocks.
At the commencement of the programme, advertisements are
placed in local language newspapers. Applicants undergo a
rigorous exam and interview process, supervised by the Hunar
Foundation with only top scoring candidates being selected.
The partner NGO for this programme, Hunar Foundation is
committed to providing livelihood opportunities for youth
through quality vocational training of international standards. The
NGO has established a campus in Tando Allahyar district which
awards certificates endorsed by the Trade Testing Board and City
& Guilds (UK). The Hunar Foundation’s training programmes test
baseline skills including proficiency in English language, basic
workshop practices, HSE and entrepreneurship along with
specific industry needs-based vocational skills. Apart from
professional training, education on work ethics is also included
in the curriculum to ensure that those who train under this
programme are not only highly skilled but also practice integrity.
Graduates of the programmes are readily employable both
locally and abroad.
Boarding and lodging for the candidates, selected for the UEP
funded training programme, is provided by the Rashid Memorial
Welfare Organization (RMWO). Rashidabad is located on the
Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas road near Tando Allahyar. The project is
spread over 100 acres of beautiful fertile land. It houses schools,
residence units, healthcare facilities, a vocational training centre
and recreational facilities. RMWO focuses on education, health,
environment and socio-economic uplift.
This project not only provides a sustainable technical education
for local youth to enhance their employment prospects but it also
creates a cadre of productive professionals that can contribute to
businesses in rural Sindh and beyond.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the re-launch of
PIP’s Newsletter “Petro-News”.
Petro-News aims to provide information and analysis on industry
wide developments and PIP’s activities along with articles covering technical, non-technical and socio-economic aspects of the
oil and gas sectors.
This newsletter is the new version after a halt of almost three
years. During the halt, PIP organized some remarkable events
and launched its much awaited executive learning center; you
will see the highlights of all activities in this issue.
PIP is functioning as a body providing professional information,
analysis & guidance on Pakistan’s energy sector to key energy
sector stakeholders. The on-going initiatives are holding the series
of seminar/lectures/workshops on the energy sector issues in the
country with possible solutions, weekly on-line Energy Reports,
monthly oil/gas prices report, international standard learning
courses for oil & gas professionals in Pakistan, bi-annual
For Correspondence
2
published Pakistan Energy Outlook book, the flagship bi-annual
Pakistan Oil & Gas Conference and PIP’s coordinating role as the
country charter member for the global bodies such as International Gas Union (IGU) and World Petroleum Council (WPC).
PIP is unique in these activities since no other energy sector entity
in Pakistan performs these tasks.
We are appreciative of the support of our members for their
contribution of relevant articles for this edition of Petro-News and
we look forward to their continued encouragement in making
this newsletter the mouthpiece of the industry. We hope that the
contents and presentations contoured in this edition will be of
interest and value to our readers.
The dawn of the year 2014 brings with it fresh aspirations and
provides us with an opportunity to take new initiatives and innovative measures to bring further coordination in the activities of
the industry players for a streamlined approach towards our
ultimate goal – a strong and prosperous Pakistan.
Happy New Year!
Muhammad Danish, Editor, PETRO-NEWS
1st Floor, Federation House, Block V, Kehkashan, Clifton, Karachi-75600, Pakistan.
Tel: (92-21) 35378701, 35378702 Fax: (92-21) 35378704 Email: info@pip.org.pk
Augmentation of MAKORI EPF
Makori Early Production Facility (EPF) was initially arranged
through M/S Schlumberger, in phases, on rental basis and its first
phase was commissioned on 8th January, 2006. Later on, after
testing the integrated facility (inclusive of all the three phases) for
an extensive period of time, it was purchased by TAL JV on 8th
January, 2007. By this time the facility had already successfully
processed 2637 MMSCFD of gas, 144,025 BBLS of Condensate
and 172,706 BBLS of Crude.
The initial design capacity of the facility was 20 MMSCFD of gas;
however, as a result of an in-house de-bottlenecking study and its
implementation during the ATA in August 2008, with nominal
expenditure the said capacity was increased to 30 MMSCFD of gas.
Later on, in view of additional upside potential of Mamikhel,
Makori and Makori-East, construction of a new gas processing
facility namely Makori-GPF was proposed and the same is
expected to be ready soon. However, the increasing demand of
gas in the country and availability of new Makori-East wells,
prompted MOL Pakistan and its JV partners to plan about
temporarily, i.e. till the availability of the GPF, producing the said
wells through Makori-EPF after its necessary augmentation. So in
May 2011 in order to verify the concept and review the options
for realizing the same, an in-house study was carried out. The
study recommended the addition of some new process
equipment in addition to associated piping modifications to
successfully handle the expected additional volumes of gas and
condensate at the subject EPF. During the said study, the existing
crude heater and flash gas compressor came out to be as the
major bottle-necks for handling the expected larger amounts of
flash gases from the rich-gas/condensate feed of Makori East. It
was thus thought essential that in addition to other necessary
equipment, a 6 MMBTU/hr Crude Heater and a robust four stage
Flash Gas Compressor with a capacity of more than 6MMSCFD
may also be arranged.
support to the proposal. Followed by the same, necessary
approvals and bidding process contract was awarded to
Schlumberger for the required augmentation of the EPF. In
addition to other minor challenges the arrangement of the above
flash gas compressor proved to be a major one during the project.
After successfully negotiating all the said challenges, with
extraordinary support and guidance of all the JV partners, the
augmented facility stood commissioned early 2013. The
integrated facility is currently processing around 30MMSCFD of
gas and 8000bpd of crude/condensate.
The project, in every sense is an exhibit of TAL JV’s commitment
to the optimal and accelerated development of its assets, is also
an example of its entrepreneurship and awareness of its role in
mitigating the energy needs of the country. However, it is just
another milestone along the journey and with the active support
of our partners many more such milestones are expected to be
achieved in due course. One of them i.e. Makori GPF is just
round the corner now.
Courtesy: MOL
In view of the obvious fiscal advantages of the proposal and its
benefits for the country on one hand offsetting the import bill
with respect to oil and addition of much needed gas supplies to
the national grid on the other, the JV extended wholehearted
3
Rules of Business
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources Jam Kamal Khan speaks at the inaugural session.
The Annual Technical Conference (ATC) 2013, jointly organized
by Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and Pakistan Association
of Petroleum Geoscientists (PAPG), an affiliate of the American
Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), was held between
November 26 and 27 at the Islamabad Serena Hotel under the
theme ‘Energy Revolution through Hydrocarbon Resources’.
A key technical event of the local upstream oil and gas industry,
the conference drew a large crowd of Exploration and Production
(E&P) professionals and service providers, government officials,
academia and students. MD and CEO Asim Murtaza Khan and
DMD and COO Moin Raza Khan and Pakistan Petroleum
Limited’s (PPL) technical staff participated in the event.
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources Jam Kamal
Khan, who was chief guest at the conference inauguration,
addressed participants, stating that the government was pursuing
a vibrant and investor-friendly policy to attract more local and
international players in the oil and gas sector. He also apprised
the audience that the government would soon initiate import of
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) on a short-term basis and was
working on the plan to explore shale gas.
Chairman, ATC 2013 and Director, Institute of Science and
Technology, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited
(OGDCL) Dr. M. Saeed Khan Jadoon and other distinguished
speakers also spoke on the occasion, urging government to grant
exploration licenses for blocks auctioned. The need to initiate
exploration in offshore areas was also stressed.
4
Addressing participants at the closing ceremony, Federal Minister
for Inter-provincial Coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada
highlighted that the current energy crises warranted search for
new energy resources on a war footing. The minister added that
securing the country’s energy security remains a priority on the
government’s agenda and increasing local energy production is
the only way of ensuring cheap, reliable energy supply to the
people and industry. He mentioned that shale and tight gas as
well as Thar coal needed to be exploited to their full potential as
highlighted in the conference proceedings.
Around 30 professional papers, including those by PPL’s
technical staff, were shared during the conference. Two student
paper contests were also held in the earth sciences and
petroleum engineering categories as was a panel discussion on
pressing energy issues chaired by Jam Kamal Khan with
participation by heads of PPL, OGDCL, Mari Petroleum
Company Limited, MOL Pakistan Oil and Gas Company B.V.,
Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company, Weatherford Oil
Tool M.E. Limited and Schlumberger Seaco Inc.
In addition, two technical pre-conference courses were also
arranged on ‘How to avoid work over – an innovative way to
bring life to old/ dead wells’ and ‘EOR/ IOR of mature/ depleted
fields’ along with a field trip to study ‘Triangle Zone of
Deformation North of Soan Syncline and its Petroleum
Prospectivity’ in the North East Potwar Region.
Courtesy: PPL
Attock Refinery Limited
3rd Health Safety Environment
(HSE) Conference -2013
In today’s highly competitive and performance driven business
climate nobody can afford to rest on its laurels. Sustainable
business growth is possible only when we take care of the
interests of our stakeholders and the society at large.
Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) has always strived to play an active
role in the promotion of knowledge sharing events in all spheres
of corporate business including Health, Safety & Environment
(HSE), Plant Maintenance & Operations and Human Resources.
These events are not only in line with ARL’s core value of,
“Learning & Innovation” but also provide sound basis for future
strategies, growth & development of staff. Learning from each
other experiences is a key to continual improvement.
The 3rd HSE conference was held at ARL in September 2013 in
which over 85 delegates from 37 industries across the length and
breadth of Pakistan participated and showed their commitment
and interest about the importance of HSE. This event was a clear
demonstration of the growing awareness and realization of the
importance of HSE Culture in the corporate sector in today’s
dynamic business environment. This conference was a reach out
to the HSE leaders for sharing of best practices and discussions on
how to meet the global challenges facing the industry today.
It is pertinent to mention that 1st & 2nd HSE Conferences were
organized and held at ARL in 2008 & 2012. Similarly four HR
Conferences and one Plant Maintenance & Operations
Conference have been held during the last five years. Considering
the importance of HSE in our business environment, ARL has now
made HSE Conference a regular event to be held every alternate
year.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. M. Adil Khattak, Chief Executive
Officer, ARL emphasized the importance of HSE and related this
to corner stone of ARL business as well as moral and social
responsibility. Implementation and continuous compliance with
ISO-9001, ISO-14001, OHSAS-18001, ISO-17025 and
ISO-50001 not only keep us on the right track but also enable
continuous improvement, he said.
It is important to highlight that ARL over a period of time have
brought substantial improvements in the HSE areas as detailed
below:1. Development of Scenario Based Emergency Plans for all
plants.
2. Carrying out regular HAZOP study of all its operating units.
3. Development and implementation of Process Safety Audit
Protocols for refinery Plants & Tank Farm area.
4. Re-evaluation of the Fire Water Network System and it’s up
gradation.
5. Development and implementation of software for Incident
investigation & reporting System.
6. Contribution in development of National Fire and Safety
Policy for Pakistan.
7. Continuous compliance with NEQS standards.
8. Upgradation of effluent treatment facility by addition of
secondary treatment unit.
9. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Studies and other
consultancy and analytical services to the industry by our
National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC).
10. Hospital waste incineration services
11. Research & development on solar energy.
12. Recycling of Canteen wastewater for use at Citrus Orchard
through drip irrigation
13. Biogas production from cattle waste at Morgah Biodiversity
Park
14. Organic Farming at ARL Vegetable Farm
15. Annual Tree Plantation drives, 19,000 saplings last year
16. Bio-remedial treatment of oil spillages.
17. Free Medical Camps, Health Awareness seminars and Poor
patient Fund.
18. Body Mass survey and weight management program.
19. Occupational Health Survey of our employees
20. Fumigation of premises and surrounding areas against
dengue and other viruses.
21. Extensive HSE awareness and training programs.
22. Established Industry/Academia collaboration for various
research projects.
23. R&D in collaboration with NUST for capturing CO2 from
refinery stacks for production of Bio-Diesel and animal feed
etc.
Based on these activities, some of the Research Papers produced
by ARL employees have been published in reputed International
Journals. The keenness and dedication for the promotion of safety
culture in ARL has resulted in a significant reduction of our Total
Accident Incident Frequency Rate (TAIFR) from 15 to 2.3 in the
last 6 years. Achievement of 14.2 Million Safe-Man-Hours last
year was another manifestation of ARL commitment towards
safety.
Cont... on page 11
5
Pictorial Coverage
(2011-13)
Pakistan Energy Conference held on April 10th – 12th, 2011 at Serena Hotel, Islamabad
Pakistan Energy Outlook Seminar held on November 18th, 2011 at Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi
2011 Strategic Workshop to identify PIP’s working themes held on December 22nd, 2011
at Golf Club DHA, Karachi
World Gas Conference (WGC) & Exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from June 4-8, 2012
where PIP represented the Gas sector of Pakistan
6
Seminar on ‘Achievements of Oil, Gas Sector Outlined’ held on October 8th, 2012 at OGDC House Islamabad.
Delegation from China’s largest power company “Dongfang Electric Corporation”(DEC) visited
PIP office on November 2nd, 2012
Seminar on ‘Shale Gas Potential & Challenges’ held on February 23rd, 2013 at Dr. Ziauddin University, Karachi
PIP Executive Learning Centre launched on March 10-11, 2013 at Marriot Hotel, Islamabad
7
Industrial News (World Wide)
Asian countries combat rising
LNG prices
Drones will Generate Energy at
50,000 Feet then Beam it Back to Earth
India and Japan are considering joint tenders for the import of
liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a bid to reduce the price of LNG
imports in Asia, which is currently four times more expensive
than in the US.
New Wave Energy UK, is the first that plans combine several
ideas together in a flying unit that generates energy from
multiple sources and then beams the energy down to the
planet’s surface. The company’s product consists of a drone
that would fly around at about 50,000 feet generating energy
from solar, wind, and heat, using a bit to power itself, and then
transmitting the rest down to a receiver on Earth.
Increased demand for LNG in Asia, the world’s largest
importer of LNG, has seen prices rise accordingly as countries
such as Japan and South Korea wean themselves off nuclear
energy, and China try to reduce reliance on coal.
Japan’s crack plan to solve the
world’s energy problems:
Turn the moon into a giant solar panel
A Japanese construction company is proposing to solve the
energy problems facing Japan, and ultimately the entire
planet, by turning the Moon into a solar power plant.
Shimizu Corp, which is based in Tokyo, wants to lay a belt of
solar panels 350 kilometres wide around the equator of the
Moon and relay the resulting constant supply of energy to
“receiving stations” on Earth by laser or microwave transmission.
Future world energy demand
driven by trends in developing
countries: EIA
EIA's International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO2013) projects
that
growth in world energy use largely comes from
countries outside of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Energy use patterns for countries inside the OECD are
relatively stable between 2010 and 2040 as primary energy
use is projected to grow by 0.5% per year, roughly the same
rate as population growth in those countries.
BP Pushing the Limits of
Technology to Develop Ultra-Deep
Fields
In order to survive into the future, big oil companies are forced
to constantly search for large discoveries, driven by the
necessity to replace the steady decline in production at
existing fields.
After so many decades of producing oil from easy to access
fields, the only large discoveries left are found in remote or
difficult to access formations.
8
Tullow, Africa Oil drill fifth northern
Kenya oil discovery
Tullow Oil PLC and Africa Oil Corp. have reported a fifth oil
discovery in northern Kenya where they plan to run six rigs full
time for the foreseeable future. The Agete-1 exploratory well on
Block 13T has discovered and sampled movable oil with an
estimated 100 m of net oil pay in good-quality sandstone reservoirs.
Agete-1 is the fifth consecutive oil discovery in the first of a chain
of multiple rift basins on Africa Oil’s acreage in the region.
Agete-1 derisks several follow-on prospects north of and on
trend with the Twiga South, Ekales, and Ngamia oil discoveries
and adds to the significant resource base already discovered.
U.S. shale oil productions could
impact Saudi light Grades
U.S light oil production from shale and tight rock formations may
impact Saudia Arabia in the medium-term by forcing it to sell its
lighter grades at lower prices, according to Jadwa Investment Co.
The price difference between light and sweet grades of crude oil,
which contain less sulfur and yield more transportation fuels,
and heavier and sour grades will narrow as the U.S. adds more
light crude from shale formations over the next five years.
Surge Seen in U.S. Oil Output,
Lowering Gasoline Prices
Domestic oil production will continue to soar for years to
come, the Energy Department predicted, scaling to levels not
seen in nearly half a century by 2016.The annual outlook by
the department’s Energy Information Agency was cited by
experts as confirmation that the United States was well on its
way — far faster than anticipated even a year ago — to
achieving virtual energy independence.
The report predicted that the increase in United States
production would contribute to a decline in the world oil
benchmark price over the next few years to $92 a barrel in
2017 from a 2012 average of $112 a barrel, which should
translate into lower prices at the pump for consumers.
Responsibly, wisely, ethically
SSGC’s media campaigns advocate gas conservation and refraining from
gas theft to avoid heavy penalties
A natural gas utility with a customer-centric vision has a dual
responsibility. It has to guarantee an uninterrupted supply to its
rising customer-base while at the same time ensure that the
customers use the resource responsibly and ethically. Gas losses
mean less gas available to the consumers and at the same time
reduced profits for the Company, not to mention personal
embarrassment in the form of penalties if they resort to gas theft.
SSGC runs its media campaigns in tandem with its ongoing efforts
aimed at resolving issues of major significance. For instance, the
Company has been confronted for quite some time now with a
major problem of Unaccounted-for-Gas or UFG. The phenomenon
of UFG therefore occurs when Gas Sales are less than the Gas
Purchases. Lower gas sales result from gas theft by the consumers.
UFG is an international phenomenon and every utility company in
the world faces this problem. According to Internationally Accepted
Industry Standards of UFG, 1 to 3% is considered ideal, 3 to 6% is
adjudged reasonable and more than 6% is considered excessive.
Today, SSGC faces an annual UFG of nearly 11%, which is well
above the internationally accepted standards more so since with
every 1 bcf increase in UFG, the Authority takes away Rs. 1 billion
from the Company’s profits as a penalty. The Company operates on
a fixed rate of return of 17% per annum on the net average fixed
operating assets under tariff regime governed by Oil and Gas
Regulatory Authority (OGRA).
While it is difficult to quantify gas theft in UFG, it is presumed to be
approximately 20% of the total volume. Other factors responsible
for the rising trend in UFG levels in Pakistan include underground
and overhead gas leakages, measurement errors, illegal
connections and such other connections which by pass the meters
installed, shift of sale from Bulk-to-Retail customers, frequent third
party damages and law and order situation in franchise areas.
The Company has been pursuing a number of measures including
forming large anti-theft surveillance teams, utilizing technology
including temper proof meters and regulators and creating Strategic
Business Units for greater responsibility and accountability. Despite
numerous measures taken by SSGC to control this menace, UFG levels
have continued to soar in the recent years.
Although SSGC has been continuously replacing and rehabilitating
leaking pipelines, the efforts have been more on a reactive basis
especially when there are complaints of low pressure or interrupted
gas flows. For a more viable technical solution to control UFG
across the board, the Company’s $200 million five-year period
Natural Gas Efficiency Project (NGEP) was approved by the
Government with the assistance of World Bank.
Selling the idea of the evils of gas theft
Practical measures will not bear fruit if mass awareness about the
perils of UFG is not propagated on a recurring basis. But how do
you ‘sell’ the menace of UFG to the public? A robust concept that
can be easily understood by the general public and one that
emphasizes on solution accompanied by strong visuals are keys to
making a desired impact.
SSGC’s all out war against UFG was given a major boost in 2011-12
with the promulgation of Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2011. The
Amendment gave the Company cart blanche for not just
intensifying its raids against the miscreants involved in what is now
a major crime, but also a free hand to lodge FIRs with local police.
The Company’s electronic and print advertisements contributed
hugely towards educating the public and more so cautioning the
miscreants by proclaiming that gas theft is a big crime which
imposes heavy fines and prison sentences of up to Rs. 5 million and
10 years, respectively. Images of hand cuffs and prison cells are
used to reinforce the message visually.
Cont... on page 11
9
Energy Security through Responsible
Self Reliance
Mari Petroleum Company Limited has drilled 7 wells and
acquired 354.74 Sq. Km 3D and 269.125 line Km 2D Seismic
data during the last one year. These milestones shall go a long
way in setting the strategic direction of the Company and
boosting revenues. The Company is also exploring opportunities
of expanding its business to become a player in the National and
International hydrocarbon Market, as outlined in its diversified
accomplishments below:
comprising of a 2D/3D Seismic Data Acquisition Unit, a
2D/3D Seismic Data Processing Center, three land drilling
rigs and two slick line units. Mari Services Department will
not only cater to in-house needs, it will also offer these
services at competitive rates to other E&P companies
working in Pakistan and abroad.
e)
Company coupled with establishment of Mari Services
Department has necessitated a modern, purpose built, and
spacious structure to accommodate its expanding operations.
In order to cater for increased space requirements, work on
construction of a new building of the Head Office, located
next to the old premises is in its final stages. The new
structure will be ready by end of the calendar year.
Establishment of 2D/3D Seismic Data Acquisition
Services: The newly setup Mari Seismic Unit (MSU) offers
a)
state of the art 2D/3D/4D Vibroseis & Dynamite acquisition
services, In-field 2D/3D processing, LVL Data Acquisition
and Interpretation and complete Geodetic services. MSU has
been successfully commissioned on its maiden and major
seismic project, through the acquisition of approximately
1,000 square kilometers 3D seismic data in Mari Gas Field.
The data acquisition/recording operations currently in
progress are targeted to be accomplished in the next eight
months.
b)
Acquisition of 2500 HP VFD Land Drilling Rig:
Apart from its 1500 HP Land Drilling Rig, MPCL’s newest
addition to its land drilling fleet is the state of the art 2500 HP
VFD Drilling Rig, with drilling capabilities ranging from deep
to ultra-deep wells.
Establishment of 2D & 3D Seismic Data Processing
Center: In order to attain in-house data processing
c)
New Premises: Ever increasing E&P portfolio of the
f)
Corporate Social Responsibility: Amongst an array of
CSR activities carried out by MPCL during the year,
establishment of Mari Education & Medical Complex stands
out for its utility to the community that it will serve. The
foundation stone of the Mari Education & Medical Complex
was laid in May 2012 with the purpose to cater for the
educational and medical needs of the outsourced workers
and the community residing in the vicinity of Mari Field,
Daharki. This signature project, costing Rs. 100 million, is
now complete and shall commence provision of free, quality
education and health facilities to the Company employees as
well as the locals of Daharki.
capabilities, MPCL has established its own 2D/3D Seismic
Data Processing Center which is capable of undertaking
2D/3D processing of newly acquired data, reprocessing of
vintage data and quick reprocessing of key seismic lines. In
parallel, the center will also be used for quality checks/
assurance and analysis of the outsourced processing /
reprocessing projects to eliminate the requirement of
long-term presence of a Quality Control professional at the
overseas processing center.
d)
Establishment of Mari Services Department: For an
effective and efficient management of the new services, the
Company has reorganized to set-up a services department,
Courtesy: MPCL
10
Cont... from page 5
3rd Health Safety Environment (HSE) Conference -2013
ARL HSE endeavors have also been recognized by many national
and international organizations as under:-
The prestigious “The Royal Society for Prevention of
Accidents (RoSPA) Gold Award” for two consecutive years in
2012 & 2013 for Occupational Health & Safety.
UN Global Compact Award.
WWF & ACCA’s Best Sustainability Report award for three
consecutive years.
ICAP, ICMA awards on sustainability Reporting in 2010,
2011, and 2012.
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) -Green Industry
Award 2011.
HSE once thought to be an unattractive cost to a project, is now
considered as the most critical one. Companies now realize that
high HSE standards are part of an efficient operation and of doing
good business. Improving trust and communication with
stakeholders, applying technology to improve health, safety &
environmental (HSE) performance, and dealing with global
climate change are the most important sustainable development
issues. The challenges faced by industry are similar in nature and
its solution by one of the corporate entity can help others.
There is a saying: “If you are convinced that your organization
has a sound safety culture, you are almost certainly mistaken.”
The conviction of robust and the best can lead to weaken
judgment that could result in an increased risk of undesirable
incidents, hazards and accidents. This kind of attitude
undermines ability to spot danger signals.
The conference concluded with complete agreement on sharing
knowledge - not only about solutions and best practices but also
for our problems and challenges.
During the one day conference, 12 papers were read by
representatives of reputed organizations with topics ranging
from, WWF Green Office, Behavior Based Safety, Energy and
Recourse Conservation, Overview of Building Energy Code of
Pakistan, Ergonomics, Nurturing Our Future through
Environmental Stewardship, Effective Safety Supervision in
Turnaround, ISO-50001 Implementation at Attock Refinery
Limited, Implementation of Safety Management System at
KAPCO, Human Factors in Risk Assessment, Improving LTIFR
through Contractor Safety Management Practices, Operating
Experiences of aMDEA in CO2 Removal System and Cleaner
Production Practices & Environment Theme 2013.
In the end, Management of ARL thanked all participants for
attending the Conference and making it a resounding
success.
Courtesy: ARL
Cont... from page 9
Responsibly, wisely, ethically
Gas theft cases have continued to climb in Balochistan even
though consumption is less compared to Sindh. Print, TV
advertisements and fliers have featured highly influenced
religious leaders or ulemas, considered as one of the most
strongest opinion makers underscoring the point that meal
cooked from ‘stolen’ gas is ‘haram’ and is strictly prohibited from
the Islamic point of view.
Gas Leakages:
Leakage is the action of unmeasured gas passing from within a
transmission/distribution system and to the outside atmosphere.
In its advertisements, the Company makes it a point to ensure that
it not just cautions the general public about UFG and its causes,
but also gives them useful suggestions to minimize gasleaks. The
purpose is two-fold, one, to prevent serious accidents and two, to
facilitate the customers in managing their gas bills better. In its
print advertisements related to leakages, the Company also
advocates regular check-ups of home appliances to minimize the
dangers of gas leaks by providing step-by-step details of two very
simple tests – house line test and Soap test - that can be easily
conducted by the homeowners.
Gas Conservation:
It would have been easy for the Company to run its conservation
campaigns by making pompous statements ‘instructing’ the
customers to conserve natural gas. However, that would not
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have been a very pragmatic approach. SSGC’s media campaigns,
therefore, stress on giving instant tips to the customer to ensure
that they use gas not just sensibly but do it in such a way that they
do not risk their lives in the process. These campaigns are run in
both winter and summer seasons. The premise is simple: Use gas
with responsibility so that there will be enough for the future.
Scrolls and announcements:
The Company’s Corporate Communication Department recently
came up with an ingenious idea of having scrolls, break bumpers
(minute long brief announcements containing a voice over,
placed between a pause in the program and its commercial
breaks) and sponsorship announcements run on television and
radio channels to convey UFG related messages. Since the
frequency of insertions is quite high especially during prime time
programming, listeners are able to register the Company’s
messages related to gas theft, leakages and other issues that
directly impact the Company and its consumers. Recurring
insertions cause a top of the mind recall and ultimately a positive
action from the customers.
SSGC’s message is simple: It is committed towards serving its
customers in the best way possible but if they themselves show
callousness in the use of gas and flout laws with impunity, they
will do little towards preserving this rich natural resource besides
facing heavy penalties in the process.
Courtesy: SSGC
US-Pakistan trade mission elicits potential
investor interest
US-Pakistan trade mission delegates at the ExxonMobil Research and Development Centre, Houston, USA
Aligned with the government’s efforts to draw international
investment into Pakistan’s energy sector, a US-Pakistan
trade mission led jointly by Federal Minister for Petroleum
and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and US
Ambassador to Pakistan Richard G. Olson visited Houston,
USA between November 14 and 15, 2013 to scope out
investment opportunities in parleys with leading American
companies.
Organized by the US Embassy in Islamabad, this was the first trade
mission of its kind since
the restart of the Strategic
Dialogue process by US
Secretary of State John
The US-Pakistan trade mission was
Kerry and Prime Minister
organized in conjunction with the
Nawaz Sharif in August
fifth bilateral US-Pakistan Energy
and builds on the
Working Group held two days earlier
US-Pakistan
business
on November 12 in Washington,
opportunities conference
USA.
held in Dubai back in
June.
The working group held a day-long
Brass tacks
The trade mission delegation
included officials from
the
Ministry
of
Petroleum and Natural
Resources, heads of 17
oil and gas companies,
including both stateowned entities such as
Pakistan Petroleum Limited
(PPL), Oil and Gas
Development Company
Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan
State Oil, Sui Southern
Gas Company Limited
and Sui Northern Gas
session, focusing on the criticality of
stable energy supply in accelerating
Pakistan’s economic growth. The
working group was co-chaired by
Abbasi and Federal Minister of Water
and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif
on the one hand and by US Special
Envoy
and
Coordinator
for
International
Energy
Affairs
Ambassador Carlos Pascual on the
other. Olson, Pakistan Embassy
Chargé d’Affaires Asad M. Khan and
senior officials from the two countries
also attended the session. The
delegation also met US Secretary of
Energy Ernest Moniz.
Pipelines Limited and private firms and representatives from the
US State and Commerce departments.
According to the US State Department, both Abbasi and Olson
stated the US administration’s efforts to join hands with the
Pakistani government in urging US investors to venture into
Pakistan’s oil and gas sector. Representatives from international
oil and service companies were informed that Pakistan is an
attractive place to invest, particularly in offshore areas,
equipment provision and supply of Liquefied Natural Gas.
According to the US Department of
State, the working group is expected
to foster bilateral cooperation in
Pakistan’s energy sector. “The US and
Pakistan have worked closely and on
a sustained basis to better develop
and diversify Pakistan’s energy sector,
a key priority of the Pakistani
government and people,” stated the
State Department spokesperson. At
the meeting, the Pakistani delegation
highlighted the need to expand power
generation, promote further energy
efficiency and develop hydroelectric
and renewable resources.
Abbasi sought US support to attract
private-sector investment into
Pakistan’s oil and gas industry through
joint ventures with public sector
companies such as PPL and OGDCL,
reiterating in particular the import of
US technological cooperation to tap
huge reserves of shale gas/ oil,
believed to be the ninth largest in the
world.
“The mission represents
the strong emphasis the
US places on its
trade and investment
relationship with Pakistan
and US support for
stronger business-tobusiness ties between
our two countries,”
said Olson. For his
part, Abbasi highlighted
the
g o v e r n m e n t ’s
trade-not-just-aid
stance in his interaction
with US business
representatives.
Pakistani delegates
also visited facilities,
including
the
ExxonMobil Research
and Development Centre
in Houston, to see
cutting-edge exploration
technology and equipment
at work.
Courtesy: PPL
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