Dhaka: The government has initiated a feasibility study to link the Bhola gas fields to the national gas grid via two pipelines connecting the island district to Barishal and Khulna, officials announced today. 'The feasibility study is underway for the gas pipelines,' confirmed a spokesman from the state-owned Bangladesh Oil, Gas Mineral Corporation, also known as Petrobangla, to BSS.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Petrobangla's deputy general manager and spokesman Tariqul Islam Khan stated that the study is a part of the government's efforts to ensure energy security through accelerated exploration activities. The first gas field in Bangladesh was discovered in Shahbazpur, in the southwestern coastal district, back in 1986. Since then, several other gas fields have been identified, with the latest discovery made in the Ilisha area of Bhola, announced in October 2025 as the country's 29th gas field, estimated to hold a reserve of 200 billion cubic feet.
Khan further explained that work is underway to drill 19 more gas wells in the district. Experts highlight that integrating the gas into the national grid is a significant challenge to fully capitalizing on these reserves. Petrobangla plans to construct pipelines to address this challenge.
Furthermore, Khan revealed that Petrobangla intends to drill and conduct workover activities on 10 wells in Bhola by December this year, employing 10 rigs. Five rigs will be provided by its key subsidiary, Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX), and five by private contractors. Efforts are also being made to procure two additional rigs for BAPEX.
In addition, the Petrobangla official noted that BAPEX and a third-party consulting firm, Sinopec of China, are expected to sign an agreement for drilling the wells in Bhola. Petrobangla anticipates that gas extraction from the 10 wells will contribute 127 million cubic feet of gas to the national grid. The company has also initiated seismic data acquisition and analysis in respective blocks to identify drillable well locations with new leads or prospects across various blocks in the country.