Dhaka: The state-run Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) today announced that efforts are underway to explore natural gas in 11 wells, aiming to enhance the gas supply to an expected volume of 143 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Petrobangla spokesman Tariqul Islam Khan stated that they anticipate a supply of about 143 mmcfd gas to the national gas grid upon the successful completion of drilling and workover operations at these wells. The Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (BAPEX), a key subsidiary of Petrobangla, is currently engaged in drilling eight of these wells.
Khan, a deputy general manager at Petrobangla, mentioned that the organization has intensified several exploration programs and developed a work plan to drill 50 wells by 2025-2026 and 100 wells by 2026-2028. The drilling operations will be conducted alongside "workover" activities, which involve invasive techniques to repair or stimulate existing gas wells to restore, prolong, or enhance production.
The wells undergoing drilling and workover operations include Sylhet-10, Sylhet-11, Rashidpur-11, Srikail-5, Habiganj-5, Kailashtila-1, Beanibazar-2, Semutang-6, Titas-28, Titas-31 in the northeastern and southeastern regions, and Bhola in southwestern Bangladesh.
BAPEX recently made a notable discovery in June, confirming extractable gas in Block-8 at the Jamaplur-1 exploration well, marking the first-ever discovery in the block. The state-run company is also drilling four deep wells, two in the Titas and Bakhrabad fields under BGFCL, and two wells in the Srikail field and Mobarakpur structure.
Simultaneously, seismic data acquisition, processing, and interpretation are being carried out by BAPEX, BGFCL, and SGFL in their respective blocks to identify new leads or prospects and potential drillable well locations. Petrobangla's spokesman indicated that gas production from indigenous sources is expected to increase to address the existing gas crisis.
Additionally, BAPEX plans to drill a total of 19 more wells in Bhola to evaluate the discovered gas reserves.