Nashpa Block well yields 4,100 bpd oil, 10.5 mmcfd gas, boosting local energy output
Oil and gas sector. Photo: File
Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) on Thursday announced a major oil and gas discovery from the Nashpa Block in Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, calling it a significant addition to Pakistan’s indigenous energy resources.
In a statement, OGDCL said successful production had been achieved from the Baragzai X-1 exploratory well, with output of 4,100 barrels of oil per day and 10.5 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The company said the well was drilled to a total depth of 5,170 metres, where a 187-metre hydrocarbon-bearing zone was identified in the Datta Formation. A cased-hole drill stem test confirmed the well’s commercial potential, recording production at a 32/64-inch choke with a wellhead flowing pressure of 3,880 pounds per square inch gauge.
OGDCL is the operator of the Nashpa exploration licence with a 65 percent working interest, while Pakistan Petroleum Limited holds 30 percent and Government Holdings Private Limited holds 5 percent, a company spokesperson said.
The company said the new discovery would strengthen national energy reserves and OGDCL’s resource base. It added that developing local oil and gas resources would help improve the country’s energy supply-demand balance and reduce reliance on costly imports.
Read: Hydrocarbon reserves discovered in Khairpur
An earlier discovery at the Baragzai X-01 (Slant) exploratory well had already highlighted the Nashpa Block’s potential. In December 2025, OGDCL announced that the well was producing 2,280 barrels of oil per day and 5.6 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, marking the first hydrocarbon discovery from the Kingriali Formation in the area.
That well, spudded on December 24, 2024, was also drilled to a depth of 5,170 metres. Officials said the find helped de-risk deeper exploration and opened prospects for further discoveries in the region.
Pakistan has long been seen as having potential in tight and shale gas, which are trapped in rock formations and require specialised drilling techniques. However, large-scale commercial production has yet to be proven.
OGDCL’s renewed push comes after US President Donald Trump said Pakistan held “massive” oil reserves, a claim analysts said lacked credible geological evidence.
The company is also fast-tracking its shale programme, shifting from a single test well to a five- to six-well plan in 2026-27. Expected production is estimated at 3 to 4 million standard cubic feet per day per well. If successful, officials said the programme could eventually scale to hundreds, or even more than 1,000, wells across the country.
