Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex) is seeking final approval to drill two more gas wells in Jamalpur’s Madarganj after completing soil tests and site selection at both proposed locations.
The wells, Jamalpur-2 and Jamalpur North-1, are planned under the same project as Jamalpur-1, where the country’s 30th gas field was discovered. Their development project proposals (DPPs) are now in the final stages of approval at the Planning Commission.
Bapex Field In-Charge Bayezid Hossain confirmed the development, saying civil works and site selection had been completed and the proposals submitted to the government. Drilling would begin promptly once approval was secured, he said.
According to Bapex, gas exploration is planned at three strategic locations in Madarganj upazila.
The first, Jamalpur-1 in Tartapara village, has already yielded gas, with the potential to supply up to 10 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
The second well is planned for Singdah in Gunaritola union, while the third will be located in Nabyachar in Charpakerdah union. Soil tests have been successfully completed at both proposed sites.
Bapex Planning and ICT Division Head Md Abdur Rouf said the two new wells had been named Jamalpur-2 and Jamalpur North-1.
Speaking over the phone, he confirmed that the DPPs were undergoing the final approval process at the Planning Commission.
The search for gas in Madarganj dates back to 1984, when seismic data collected in Tartapara village first indicated a potential gas prospect.
A two-dimensional seismic survey was conducted in the area in 2014, followed by a close-grid seismic survey in 2015.
An Azerbaijani gas exploration company secured the drilling contract in 2017 but later left without completing the work.
Bapex subsequently began drilling the Jamalpur-1 exploratory well on 24 January 2025.
Project officials said a final decision on gas extraction and connection to the national transmission grid would be taken after fully assessing the commercial presence of gas and the total reserves in the two proposed wells.
Each well is planned to reach a depth of approximately 2,500 metres below the surface.
Of the two, one will be an appraisal-cum-development well and the other an exploratory well.
