PPL Strikes Again: Fourth Consecutive Shah Bandar Discovery Sparks Fresh Energy Hopes

KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited-PPL has made yet another discovery of gas and condensate in the Shah Bandar Block, bringing the number of successive discoveries to four and continuing an impressive streak of discoveries few other firms operating in the country have managed to match.

PPL Gas Discovery

This was revealed by the company in its exploratory well named Rahi X-1, situated in District Sujawal, Sindh, in a statement released to the Pakistan Stock Exchange. PPL operates the Shah Bandar Exploration License and holds a 63 percent working interest in the block. MariEnergies holds 32 percent, while Sindh Energy Holding Company Limited and Government Holdings Private Limited each hold 2.5 percent as joint venture partners.

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PPL's technical teams spudded Rahi X-1 on June 17, 2026, after completing detailed geological and geophysical evaluation of the prospect. Drilling crews pushed the well down to 2,612 metres measured depth, targeting the Upper Sand of the Lower Goru Formation a zone that has repeatedly rewarded PPL's exploration bets in this part of Sindh.

Engineers identified the hydrocarbon-bearing zone using drilling data and wireline logs, then moved into testing. The well flowed at 0.493 million standard cubic feet per day of gas alongside 12 barrels of condensate per day, recorded against a wellhead flowing pressure of 133 psig through a 32/64-inch choke from the Lower Goru Upper Sand.

Tight Reservoir Requires Further Evaluation

PPL used entirely indigenous expertise to drill and test the well, a detail the company chose to highlight even as it tempered expectations around the discovery's scale. Early test results point to a tight reservoir, meaning the rock holds hydrocarbons but restricts their flow a technical challenge that can limit commercial output unless engineers apply specialized stimulation or completion techniques.

PPL says it will now run further geological, geophysical, and engineering assessments before it determines whether Rahi X-1 justifies full commercial development. That evaluation will likely take weeks, if not longer, given the tight nature of the reservoir already flagged in preliminary results.

The Shah Bandar Block sits in one of Sindh's more actively drilled onshore basins, and PPL's string of four straight discoveries there signals the company sees continued upside in the area despite Pakistan's broader struggle to reverse declining domestic gas production. Whether Rahi X-1 ultimately adds meaningful volumes to that supply or joins the list of technically successful but commercially marginal finds now depends entirely on the data PPL gathers over the coming assessment phase.