Production at the Kadanwari gas field began at the end of May, the operator Lasmo Oil Pakistan, a subsidiary of the UK's Lasmo, has announced. It is the first production to start at the three concession areas in Pakistan operated by Lasmo.

Production from Kadanwari will gradually rise to 100 million cubic feet of gas a day and this can be increased following completion of extra development drilling and facilities construction work on the site. The gas will be processed on site by Lasmo and sold to Sui Southern Gas Company. It will be transported via a dedicated 400-kilometre pipeline to Karachi.

Lasmo is the operator and owns 8.42 per cent of the concession. The state- owned Oil & Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) owns 50 per cent, the local Kufpec (Pakistan) and Idemitsu Pakistan Oil Exploration Company each own 15.79 per cent.

The Kadanwari field is located in Sind province, 330 kilometres northeast of Karachi. It was discovered by Lasmo in 1989. The company began developing the field in 1992.

Lasmo began a three-year initial exploration programme at the 300-square kilometre Kirthar block in western Sindh at the end of 1994. The company will have a 20-year production lease if it makes a commercial discovery. Lasmo and the UK's Royal Dutch Shell each have a 47.5 per cent share and OGDC has 5 per cent.

The same consortium also has an exploration concession in Sibi, Baluchistan. The group is currently undertaking seismic research and plans to start drilling in 1997.