State-owned oil, gas and minerals corporation Petrobangla seeks to complete the drilling of a total of 48 wells at different gas fields hoping to add 618 MMCFD to the national grid by 2025.

This will be done through Petrobangla’s own companies and outsourcing contractors by next year.

‘We’re very serious about implementing the plan on time and if necessary, we will seek a waiver from the provision of a mandatory feasibility study to avoid a time-consuming process,’ said a top official of the Petrobangla.

The official preferred anonymity as he is not authorised to talk to the media.

The plan is to add a total of 618 million cubic feet per day gas to the national grid when power, industries as well as many other sectors are reeling from gas shortage.

According to an official document, of the planned 48 wells, 23 will be drilled using the rigs of the BAPEX (Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited) while the remaining 25 will be done by the outsourcing of the contractors at the existing onshore gas fields under a crash programme.

‘These wells will be drilled as part of the government’s ongoing plan to increase the gas production from the local gas fields,’ another top official of the Petrobangla said, also wishing anonymity.

He, however, declined to comment officially as some of the wells’ approval process remains pending with the government’s highest authority.

Petrobangla took up the programme against the backdrop of declining gas production with depleting reserve positions.

The country’s 20 gas fields, out of a total of 29,  produce between 1,600 and 1,900 MMCFD gas while another 1,000 MMCFD gas is being imported to meet the demand for about 4,000 MMCFD.

Officials said the local fields are depleting fast and gas reserves are declining.

Currently, there are 9 trillion cubic feet of gas in the country’s reserve, out of a total of 30 TCF while 21 TCF has already been produced.

The gas demand is growing fast as many of the gas-fired power plants and new industries are being set up across the country.

As per scenario -2 of a projection of the Petrobangla, the country’s gas demand will go up to 5,092 MMCFD in 2029-30, 6072 MMCFD in 2034-35 and 6,986 in 2040-41.

The plan for drilling 48 wells is a part of the ongoing plan under which drilling of some wells has already been completed, said another official of Petrobangla.

These wells include Bhola North-2, Togbi-1, Elisha-1, Srikail North-1, Shariatpur-1, Titas-24, Beanibazar-1, Koilash Tila-2, Sylhet-10, Rashidpur-2, and Sundalpur-3.

These newly drilled wells have now been contributing 126 MMCFD gas to the national grid, noted the official.