OMV and its joint venture partners have signed the development and production lease deed for Latif gas field located in the Sindh province of Pakistan, a news release stated.

OMV is the operator of Latif concession and holds a 33.34% interest. The other partners in the joint venture are Eni (33.33% interest), and PPL (33.33% interest).

The development will include drilling of new wells and construction of a 50 km (31 miles) pipeline to transport Latif gas to the OMV-operated Sawan gas plant where Latif gas will be processed and delivered to customers, according to the release. OMV is targeting a net production of 5,700 boe/d from Latif in 2014.

The Latif gas field is located in the Sindh province, in the Middle Indus, a core area of OMV and next to the major OMV operated plants in Miano/Kadanwari and Sawan.

The field has been fully appraised with new 3D seismic and by drilling three appraisal wells. The field development will comprise of drilling and completion of new wells, wellhead compression, construction of a new raw gas pipeline to connect Latif field with Sawan processing plant, and the construction of reception and metering facilities at Sawan, according to the release. Total investment for the development amounts to EUR 107 million (US $139.6 million). It is planned to commence production from Latif field through Sawan plant in late 2013 with the aim to achieve a plateau production of around 18,000 boe/d.