Petrobangla is working to deliver 143 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of natural gas by exploring and conducting workover operations on 11 wells across various gas fields to address the nation’s rising energy needs.
Petrobangla Spokesperson Tariqul Islam Khan made these remarks to the media on Thursday. He is also serving as the Deputy General Manager (Public Relations) for Petrobangla.
He said Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) is executing these drilling and workover tasks as part of its ongoing exploration agenda, including Sylhet-10, Sylhet-11, Rashidpur-11, Srikail-5, Habiganj-5, Kailashtila-1, Beanibazar-2, and Semutang-6.
Government has recently greenlit a Tk907.29 crore proposal to drill five new gas wells in Bhola, aiming to enhance local production, lessen dependency on imported fuels, and fortify national energy security. The designated wells are Shahbazpur-5, Shahbazpur-7, Bhola North-3, Bhola North-4, and Shahbazpur North East-1.
Concurrently, Petrobangla has accelerated multiple exploration initiatives. This includes a strategy to drill and workover 50 wells by 2025-26 to yield 400-500 MMcfd of gas, followed by another 100 wells between 2026-28, as recently outlined by Petrobangla Director Engineer Rafiqul Islam.
BAPEX has confirmed the discovery of commercial gas in Block-8 via the Jamalpur-1 exploration well, marking the first such discovery in that block. Petrobangla sources indicated plans for two additional wells in the Jamalpur structure – one exploratory and one developmental – to further assess the reservoir, with a detailed project proposal (DPP) in preparation.
Separately, during the drilling of the Sylhet-10 well at the Haripur Gas Field, signs of crude oil were identified. An initiative to drill the Sylhet-12 oil well is now underway to determine the commercial potential of this oil reservoir.
BAPEX intends to drill 19 more wells in Bhola to appraise discovered gas reserves and the aerial extent of reservoir zones in the island’s fields. The gas produced from Bhola is slated for a proposed local industrial hub, anticipated to spur economic growth and generate employment in the southern region.
Additional activities include BAPEX drilling four deep wells – two in the Titas and Bakhrabad fields under BGFCL, and two in the Srikail field and Mobarakpur structure.
Seismic data acquisition, processing, and interpretation are also being carried out by BAPEX, BGFCL, and SGFL in their respective blocks to pinpoint new prospects and viable well locations. The drilling of the Titas-31 deep exploration well under BGFCL is scheduled to commence next January.
Prioritising increased domestic output, the government is focusing on drilling new wells and workover activities at existing ones to reduce the reliance on expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.
“We have intensified our efforts to drill more wells and undertake workover activities to enhance gas production from domestic sources,” said Petrobangla Chairman Engineer Md Rezanur Rahman at a recent event.
He detailed government plans to drill 100 new wells and perform workover operations on 31 existing wells to augment supply to the national grid.
BAPEX is also moving forward with plans to engage third-party contractors through an open tender process to drill five wells in the Bhola region.
