MARI plans appraisal wells this year with exploration budget of $117 million

Mari Petroleum Company (MARI) has outlined its plans for FY25, focusing on appraisal wells in areas like Bolan East, Shawal, Ghazij, Sujawal, and Ghauri East with exploration budget of $117 million, the same as last year.

Company management said at a corporate briefing that MARI holds three mining licenses: EL-186, EL-322, and EL-323, with the latter two located near Reko Diq. They are currently analyzing these blocks for potential resources.

In FY24, MARI drilled 4 exploratory, 5 appraisal, and 2 development wells, discovering new resources at Maiwand X-1, Shewa-II, Shawal-I, and Jhim East. Shewa-II is set to start production soon.

The company's total reserves and resources increased to 816 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) in June 2024, up from 682 MMBOE in June 2023. Key contributors to this growth include Ghazij, Shawal, and HRL. MARI's estimated reserve life is around 17 years.

Moreover, MARI's development and production lease has been renewed until November 2029, with an additional 15% payment of wellhead value. The lease can be extended based on the field's economic viability.

For the Waziristan block, MARI has completed work on an early production facility and a pipeline to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL). However, production will depend on security conditions and local dynamics.

MARI management informed the government will decide on the number of RLNG cargoes needed for the upcoming year by mid-November. This is to ensure the system can handle the gas volumes and address curtailment issues faced by upstream companies.

In FY24, MARI achieved record net sales of PKR 182 billion and a profit after tax of PKR 77 billion, a 25% and 38% increase from last year, respectively. This growth is due to higher gas production and prices.

MARI launched a subsidiary, Mari Technologies Limited, on September 25, 2024, focusing on data centers, cloud computing, AI, and other technologies related to petroleum and mining.

Regarding bonus shares, the company is receiving tax payments from many shareholders. For those unable to pay, the bonus shares will be sold at market price, with any shortfall covered by adjusting 10% of the shareholders' additional shares held by the company.