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$40 m Miano gas field development contract okayed

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: OMV (Pakistan) Exploration GmbH on Thursday sanctioned a $40 million Miano gas field contract for development drilling the EPC contract and certain contracts for equipment for processing of gas at the Kadanwari Plant.

The announcement follows the signature in November of a Gas Sales Agreement with Sui Southern Gas Company Limited and a Gas Pricing Agreement with the President of Pakistan.

Reinhart Samhaber, General manager of OMV (Pakistan) on the occasion said, "I am delighted that the momentum towards sanctioning this project has been maintained after the successful conclusion of the significant agreements in mid November. Our project team will now implement the joint venture's decisions on the fastest possible track with the objective of improving the schedule to delivery of first gas in early 2001."

OMV (Pakistan) Exploration GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of OMV AG of Austria, and is operator of the Miano Field in which OMV has a 17.68 percent working interest with Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (52 percent), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (15.16 percent) and British-Borneo Exploration & Production Limited (15.16 percent).

The Miano Field was discovered in 1993 and lies some 60 km south of Sukkur in Sindh province. The gas will be transported from Miano Field through a 35 km pipeline to the Kadanwari gas processing plant which is operated on behalf of the Kadanwari field owners by LASMO Oil Pakistan Limited. Miano gas will be delivered to Sui Southern along with Kadanwari gas into Sui's pipeline to Nawabshah. The proven reserves are 320 bcf. Initial sales gas production is expected to be at a rate of around 90 mmscfd. The capital cost for the project is some $40 million.