Rome, May 7 (IANS/AKI): Italy's oil and gas company Eni said it has made a new gas discovery in southern Pakistan that should ease the acute gas shortage for industry and transport in the South Asian country.
The Sukhpur Block, located 270 km north of the port city of Karachi in Sindh province, was found by Eni in a joint-venture with Pakistan Petroleum Ltd and Kuwait's Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.
The resevoir has "excellent" potential, and in exploratory drilling produced gas up to a rate of 33 million standard cubic feet per day, Eni said in a statement.
The joint-venture plans to drill another exploration well within next 12 months.
Eni has been present in Pakistan since 2000 and is the largest oil and gas producer among foreign companies operating in the country.
In 2012, the company's hydrocarbon production averaged approximately 57,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Eni said.