Exploration & Production

High hopes for deepwater wildcat off Pakistan

The Kekra 1 well will be drilled by a joint venture that includes Eni and Exxon, with the JV's local player expecting a large discovery The Kekra 1 well will be drilled by a joint venture that includes Eni and Exxon, with the JV's local player expecting a large discovery.
By Damon Evans 7 November 2018 0 33201
An Eni offshore platform An Eni offshore platform. (Eni)

Italy’s Eni and its partners are preparing to drill an ultra-deepwater exploration well targeting gas off Pakistan. Any significant find could help offset the country’s declining domestic production and reduce its need for imported LNG.

ExxonMobil joined as a joint venture partner in the Eni-operated Block G in May. The move was hailed as a significant vote of confidence in the prospectivity of the frontier waters in the Indus Basin near Pakistan’s maritime border with Iran.

Moreover, Exxon’s return to Pakistan after an absence of 33 years...