More gas discoveries likely

Bangladesh’s prospects of unearthing more gas have brightened further after the latest discoveries in Bhola, experts said yesterday. “I am not saying that Bangladesh is floating on gas, but I am also not saying that we don’t have any more gas,” said Badrul Imam, a professor of the Dhaka University’s geology department.

The fact is that there is a big amount of gas lying underground — waiting to be used. There is ample scope for finding petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir especially in the southern coastal region, he said.

Imam’s comments came at a seminar on “Prospects of Bhola Gas Field and Energy Security”, organised by the Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB) at the Dhaka Club.

State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (Bapex) has began manufacturing of fuel on an experimental basis from a newly observed field in Bheduria union placed on the northern section of Bhola.

The gas area has been named Bhola North and is about 32km north of the Shahbazpur Gas Field in the district.

Last October, Bapex observed 700 billion cubic feet of gasoline in the east of the current Shahbazpur gasoline field. The two gas fields in Shahbazpur and Bhola North have a cumulative recoverable reserve of 1.2 to 1.5 trillion cubic toes of gas, in accordance to preliminary estimates.

Further upscale reserve increase is possible relying on extra appraisal and exploratory drillings in the island, in accordance to Imam.

Kazi Matin Uddin Ahmed, chairman of the Dhaka University’s geology department, echoed the same.

The discovery in Bhola has opened up a new horizon: before that, it was presumed that only the Sylhet basin had massive gasoline fields, he added. Bangladesh stays one of the least explored petroleum nations in the world, as explorations have so far centered only easy and easy-to-find fold structures, in accordance to Imam.

“The offshore is even less explored. A more superior and mature exploration is lacking.”

He said the current gasoline discoveries in Bhola have positioned the island and the southern coastal belt as a workable fundamental natural gas hotspot in the making. A committed exploration campaign is required to virtually unearth the reserve plausible in the area, Imam said.

Revisiting the database of formerly wells drilled and deserted in the southern coastal areas pointedly exhibit that these are not dry; they as a substitute exhibit signs of gas flow.

The cause they did now not yield positive output include use of overbalanced mud, unwillingness to produce tight fuel sand, peripheral well, wrong location, incomplete trying out and so on. Retesting and/or strolling drilling programmes in these possibilities with suitable technology may additionally lead to gasoline discoveries in previously declared dry wells, he added. The government is working on two fronts, stated Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, energy adviser to the top minister.

“We are exploring new prospects. Besides, we are importing liquefied natural gas to hold the economy running.”

LNG will be introduced to the national network within the next two to three months, he added.

Tumanov Sergey, managing director of Gazprom EP International Investments, said the Russian oil employer can work with Bangladesh in specific ways, as it has know-how and procedures. Arun Karmaker, chairman of the FERB, and Sadrul Hasan, government director, additionally spoke.