OGDC announces major oil and gas discovery in Kohat’s Nashpa Block, 4,100 barrels a day
The Ghamkol Sharif shrine in Kohat, shown in a file photograph. This is not the Baragzai X-1 well site in the Nashpa Block. Photo: Ghazala.andaleeb, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Islamabad: The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC) has announced a major oil and gas discovery from the Nashpa Block in Kohat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to the company, the Baragzai X-1 exploratory well is flowing 4,100 barrels of oil per day and 10.5 million cubic feet of gas per day, a significant development for Pakistan’s energy sector.
Well details
The company said the well was drilled to a total depth of 5,170 metres, where it found a 187-metre hydrocarbon-bearing interval in the Datta Formation. Cased-hole drill stem testing confirmed commercial production at a 32/64-inch choke, with a wellhead flowing pressure of 3,880 pounds per square inch gauge.
Operator and shares
OGDC operates the Nashpa exploration licence with a 65 percent working interest, while Pakistan Petroleum Limited holds 30 percent and Government Holdings Private Limited holds 5 percent.
Background
The new find builds on earlier success at the Baragzai X-01 (Slant) well in the same block, which was announced in December 2025 as producing 2,280 barrels of oil and 5.6 million standard cubic feet of gas per day — the first discovery from the Kingriali Formation in the area. That well was spudded on 24 December 2024 and also reached 5,170 metres.
Why it matters
The company says faster development of indigenous oil and gas will improve the energy supply-demand balance and cut dependence on costly imports. OGDC is also fast-tracking its shale gas programme, moving from one test well to five or six planned wells in 2026–27, each expected to yield 3 to 4 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
