Kadanwari Gas Field, Pakistan: a disappointment turns into an attractive development opportunity

Kadanwari Gas Field, located in the Middle Indus Basin of Pakistan, was discovered in 1989. Lower Goru sands of Cretaceous age are the producing reservoir in this field. Initially, the structure was considered a relatively simple four-way closure with continuous sand. During appraisal, three wells were drilled and each of these tested gas. On the basis of these results 728×109 SCF of sales gas reserves were estimated and a processing facility was designed accordingly. Due to the corrosive and sour nature of Kadanwari gas, 22% chrome alloy was used in the well completion and surface facilities. Additional development wells and early production data indicated that the reserves were much smaller than originally estimated. After further studies, including reprocessing of seismic data, the reserves were revised downward to less than 200×109 SCF; by that time a total of nine wells had been drilled. Although the field was considered to be a disappointment, the subsurface studies continued and, as a result, the tenth well tested a new fault compartment, proving an accumulation of considerable reserves. As a result of detailed studies of the field, a number of other opportunities were also identified. Presently, the sales gas reserves are estimated at approximately 300×109 SCF and this has given a new life to the field. Some other independent fault-bounded structures in the field are now considered prospective and these have the potential to add sales gas reserves ranging from 100–500 bcf.