SOUTH ASIA MINERALS YEARBOOK—1988ration in Punjab Province. Seventyeight
boreholes totaling 12,120 meters were drilled in the Salt Range, yielding
good quality coal deposits with a proven reserve of 15 million tons. 
 Mine output at Padhrar expanded from 25,000 tons per year to 60,000 tons
per yeat In addition, expansion of the output of the coal mines at Dandot
to . 15,000 tons per year was undertaken with financial assistance from the
United Nations Development Program. FTA conducted exploration and evaluation
of coal deposits in the Aurakzai Agency of the tribal area. 
 The Government embarked on a program to increase the coal share in the country's
total primary commercial energy requirements. Under the expansion program,
proposals for coal-fired powerplants were one 500-MW unit at Lakhra, one
100-MW unit at Lakhra (fluidized bed combustion), one 80MW unit at Punjab
(fluidized bed combustion), three 55-MW units at Chakwal (fluidized-bed combustion),
and two 15-MW units at Quetta. 
 
 Natural Gas.—Natural gas accounted for about 35% of the country's
total primary commercial energy requirements. Aside from hydropower electric
generation, natural gas was Pakistan's major electricity generating fuel
and provided about one-third of the country's total final energy consumption.
Overall, natural gas was Pakistan's major fuel source because it accounted
for 50% of the energy consumed by the industrial sector and 35°lo
of
the energy consumed by the residential sector. All gas consumed in Pakistan
was domestically produced. 
 Proven reserves of natural gas were estimated to be 22.1 trillion cubic
feet. The largest gasfields in the country were Sui and Man in the center
of Pakistan near the city of Jacobabad. They have proven reserves of 6.0
trillion cubic feet and 4.2 trillion cubic feet, respectively. Other gasfields
in the area included Kandkhat and Pirkoh. The Dhodak and Rodho Gasfields
each have less 
than 3 trillion cubic feet of reserves and are in the Indus fold belt in
southwestem Punjab to the west of Multan. Natural gas produced in association
with oil included the Dhurnal, Meyal, and Toot Oilfields in the Potwar Plateau
in Punjab, south of Islamabad. Natural gas was also associated with the country's
major oil-producing area of Badin in southwest Pakistan. 
 Natural gas production in 1988 averaged 1 .2 trillion cf/d. About two-thirds
of the total production came from the Sai Field (990 million cf/d) and about
20% from Man (320 million cf/d). Natural gas production from the Badin Oilfield
was expected to begin in early 1989 at the rate of 39 million cf/d. The gas
will be transported by a new 100km-long pipeline to Hyderabad where it will
connect with the existing, extensive trans-Pakistan pipeline network. The
Government planned to utilize the low-quality gas from Nandpur Field near
Kabirwala, 60 km north of Multan, in a 90- to 1 10-MW gas-fired combined-cycle
powerplant to be built and operated by the private sector. 
 
 Petroleum.—While the first oil well was drilled in 1866 at Jundal
in Punjab, Pakistan remained largely underexplored for oil. The country's
proven recoverable oil reserves were estimated at 96 billion barrels. Based
on recent surveys in partially explored basins, there was a potential reserve
of 35 to 50 billion barrels. The Potwar Basin in the north and the Sind Basin
near the coast have been only partially explored, while drilling and mapping
in the Baluchistan Basin and large areas in the North have been minimal.
Moreover, the Government remained optimistic about the potential of the country's
250,000square-km Continental Shelf, which includes the extension of the Indus
Basin and is not far from India's Bombay High, a prolific oilfield. Drilling
by PetroCanada International Ltd. to a depth of 3,500 meters, 160 km south
of Karachi, confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons. In addition, a survey
of 
the concession 65 km southwest of Islamabad held by Occidental Oil Co. (Occidental)
indicated a large oil reservoir. Foreign companies intensified exploration
activities in Pakistan. There were about 40 foreign firms in 1988 exploring
and/or awaiting licenses for oil exploration. 
 More than 70% of Pakistan's production of crude oil came from fields operated
by foreign companies. The major producing operations are the Dhurnal Field
in the Potwar Basin in the North, 65 km southwest of Islamabad and operated
by Occidental, and the fields in the Badin concession in the southeast operated
by Union Texas Inc. Output at Dhurnal averaged 18,500 bbl/d and was expected
to increase in 1989 when water injection will be introduced. Dhurnal crude
was piped to Attock Refinery at Rawalpindi. In February 1988, commercial
production from a fifth field at south Mazani increased output at Badin to
18,500 bbl/ 
d. Badin crude was trucked to two refineries in Karachi, about 100 km away.

 Because existing refinery capacity limits a higher level of crude oil production,
Pakistan made its first export shipment of oil in December 1988. The consignment
of the Badin crude went to Singapore. Exports through 1989 were expected
to average 6,000 bbl/d; the expansion programs at the National and Karachi
refineries were expected to be complete by yearend 1989 increasing throughput
to 65,000 bbl/d. 
 
 
SRI LANKA62 
 
Sri Lanka is a 65,600-square-km island off the southeastern tip of India,
with a population of 17 million, and a per capita GDP of $363 (1987). 63
It was a major world producer of colored gem stones and an important producer
of heavy-mineral beach sands and graphite. Imported diamonds were cut and
polished for the export trade. Ce389