Gazprom wants in on Bhola gas projects, holds talks with energy division
Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom has become active again in gas exploration and infrastructure development in Bhola, seeking involvement in several projects including drilling five gas wells, a three-dimensional seismic survey, a Bhola-Barishal gas transmission pipeline and a small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.
The company is in contact with the government to learn about the progress of its earlier proposals and to explore opportunities in new projects. On Monday morning at around 11am, a Gazprom delegation met Md. Monjur Alam Pradhan, additional secretary (development) of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division at the Secretariat.
A senior official of the energy division confirmed the meeting, saying Gazprom discussed its proposals, but the division has not conveyed any decision yet.
Gazprom has submitted these proposals in several phases since 2023. In October 2023, it expressed interest in building a pilot small LNG plant in Bhola with a capacity to process up to 11.7 million cubic feet of gas per day.
In February 2024, it proposed a three-dimensional seismic survey across about 1,930 square kilometres in Bhola, Char Fasson, Hatiya and surrounding areas. The company claims the survey could identify around 30 potential well locations.
In April of the same year, it proposed building a gas transmission pipeline from Bhola to Barishal, mentioning engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), finance-linked contracts and build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangements.
Gazprom also proposed forming a joint working group with representatives of Petrobangla and the Gas Transmission Company (GTCL) for the project.
In March 2025, Gazprom proposed drilling five wells in Bhola — Shahbazpur North East-1, Bhola North-3, Bhola North-4, Shahbazpur-5 and Shahbazpur-7. But the government decided to award the work through an open competitive tender.
China's Sinopec International Petroleum Services Corporation eventually won the work. In December 2025, a contract worth Tk 907.29 crore was approved, and a work order was issued in January this year. As a result, Gazprom no longer has a chance to get the five-well drilling work.
Gazprom claims that about 200 million cubic feet of gas per day can be produced from Bhola's nine existing wells, and that a new seismic survey could identify more prospective gas exploration sites.
Energy division officials say, however, that the proposed five wells have already been awarded to another company, and how Gazprom can be involved in future projects will be considered after reviewing its proposals.
In a note verbale sent from the Russian embassy in Dhaka on May 11, reference was made to meetings between Russian Ambassador Alexander Khozin and Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud on March 30, and Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman on May 2. The note sought the foreign ministry's cooperation in advancing Gazprom's proposals. On June 2, the foreign ministry forwarded the proposals to the energy division.
Officials of the energy division and Petrobangla said that during the Awami League government, implementing these projects without competitive tender under the Special Provisions Act, 2010 was under consideration. But after the July mass uprising and the subsequent political change, the interim government repealed the law, closing the way to awarding work through the earlier process.
Gazprom has been working in Bangladesh's gas sector for more than a decade. According to its subsidiary Gazprom International, it has designed and built about 20 appraisal, exploration and production wells in Bangladesh under contracts with Bapex, Bangladesh Gas Fields Company and Sylhet Gas Fields. In 2020, it also signed a memorandum of understanding with Bapex to assess Bhola's existing gas fields and new exploration prospects.
