The government has intensified efforts to boost domestic gas production through drilling and workover of 150 wells, seismic surveys and strengthening of the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company (BAPEX), Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood told Parliament recently.
The minister said drilling of 30 wells has already been completed, adding around 100 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) of gas to the national grid. Another 85 MMCFD is expected from seven wells currently under drilling.
The government plans to conduct 4,500 line kilometers of 2D and 4,200 square kilometers of 3D seismic surveys, while two new drilling rigs are being procured to strengthen BAPEX. Proposals to reopen closed gas wells are also being examined, he said.
On LNG, the government has approved a proposal by China’s National Energy Engineering & Construction Co Ltd (CNEE) to install an FSRU at Kutubjom in Maheshkhali.
The terminal could supply up to 600 MMCFD of regasified LNG from December 2028. A feasibility study is also underway for another FSRU in the Payra-Mongla or southwestern coastal region.
