VIENNA, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Austrian energy company OMV announced Thursday it discovered the presence of gas while drilling in parts of Sindh province in Pakistan.
OMV said testing at its Sofiya-2 exploration well in the Mehar reserve area in Sindh province yielded 18 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
"We are very pleased with this result," OMV's director of exploration Jaap Huijskes said in a statement Thursday. "It provides the opportunity to utilize the Mehar gas plant for processing of Sofiya gas and condensate, which should enable cost-effective and accelerated development of this new discovery."
OMV secured the Pakistani assets from Petronas International Corp. Ltd in 2011. Huijskes said the Sofiya discovery confirms the value of the acquisition to the company's growth strategy.
The company said overall production from the Mehar field should begin in late 2013.
Pakistan is struggling to overcome an energy crisis by securing more natural gas deposits from its neighbors. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports Pakistan proven natural gas reserves as of May at 26.6 trillion cubic feet.
The Austrian energy company said further appraisal work is needed to confirm the size of the discovery at the Sofiya-2 exploration well.
