Government roadmap to drill 150 wells by 2031, target 1,752 million cubic feet of gas a day

Amid a crisis in the global supply system, the government has prepared a roadmap to drill and work over 150 gas wells by 2031 to increase gas production from domestic sources. Under this programme, a target has been set to produce 1,752 million cubic feet of gas a day from domestic sources.

Under the roadmap, the programme will be implemented in two phases. The first phase is targeted for completion by January 2028, and the second phase will run from February 2028 to December 2031.

A Planning Commission official said that of the total 150 wells, 104 new wells will be drilled and workover operations will be carried out on the remaining 46 wells.

An official of Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) said they are working to increase domestic natural gas production, reduce dependence on import-dependent liquefied natural gas (LNG), and narrow the growing gap between gas demand and supply.

Under the plan, 77 wells have already been brought under approval of projects or the boards of directors of the relevant companies. The official said that of 51 wells approved so far, work on 32 has been completed, work on 11 wells at field level is awaiting implementation, and work on the remaining eight has not yet started.

Petrobangla Chairman Abdul Mannan said the government has set a target of drilling 150 wells by 2031 to increase gas production and strengthen supply from the country's own sources. He said gas from the new wells will help increase supply to the national grid and reduce dependence on imported LNG.

According to Planning Commission data, the 32 wells completed so far have created the possibility of supplying an additional 270.8 million cubic feet of gas a day. Of this, 139.6 million cubic feet a day has initially been added to the national grid.

Since the current government took office on February 17, work on 11 wells has been completed through drilling and workover activities. These wells have created the possibility of supplying an additional 58.8 million cubic feet of gas a day, of which 41.9 million cubic feet a day has initially been added to the national grid.

Among the 11 wells under implementation at field level, BAPEX covers Sundalpur South-1, Bhola North-3, Bhola North-4, Shahbazpur North East-1, Srikail Deep-1, Mobarakpur Deep-1 and Fenchuganj South-1. BGCL covers Titas-29, Bakharabad-7 and Titas-31 Deep, and Sylhet Gas Fields Limited covers Rashidpur-13.

Based on approved load, daily gas demand in Bangladesh is 5,300 million cubic feet, and based on actual use this demand is 3,800 million cubic feet a day. In contrast, average daily gas supply is about 2,700 million cubic feet.

Imported regasified LNG supplies 1,100 million cubic feet of gas a day, which is 41 percent of total supply. International oil companies supply 890 million cubic feet a day, or 33 percent of total supply, and domestic state-owned companies supply 726 million cubic feet a day, or 26 percent.

Among domestic companies, BGCL produces 480 million cubic feet a day, SGFL 138 million cubic feet and BAPEX 108 million cubic feet of gas. Among international companies, Chevron produces 861 million cubic feet a day and KrisEnergy Bangladesh 30 million cubic feet.

So far 262 gas wells have been drilled in the country, of which gas is currently being produced from 119 wells. Of these wells, 76 are operated by domestic companies and 43 by international oil companies.

In the second phase, work will be done on a total of 100 wells, of which 69 new wells will be drilled and 31 wells will undergo workover. In this phase, BAPEX will work on 68 wells, BGCL on 21 wells and SGFL on 11 wells.