DHAKA, 3 January 2006 — Bangladesh is set to conduct an official survey for the first time of the country’s total gas reserve and prepare a plan for the exploration of gas from 14 gas fields located at Titas, Bakhrabad, Habiganj, Kailashtila, Rashidpur, Fenchuganj, Kamta, Begumganj, Saldanadi, Biani Bazar, Narsingdi, Meghna, Shahbazpur and Sylhet.
The Energy Division will submit a proposal in this regard to the Cabinet Committee on Purchase (CCP).
The division has recommended appointment of Exploration Consultants Limited, a UK-based gas survey company under a Petrobangla project at a cost of 182.78 million taka, officials of the Energy Ministry said in Dhaka yesterday.
A report of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), released on Feb. 9, 2001, however said, there are potential new gas reserves of around 33.5 trillion cubic feet (TCF).
Referring to the survey report, experts of the state-run oil and gas corporation Petrobangla said the assessment report should not encourage the government to take any “commercial decision” since it would be unwise to do so before conducting seismic survey.
According to official estimate, the current proven deposit of gas in Bangladesh is 13 TCF, which will be exhausted in 35 years while a deposit of over 30 TCF could easily meet the domestic demands for the next 50 years.
Besides, a joint report of Norway’s Petroleum Directorate and the Hydrocarbon Unit of the Energy Division said that Bangladesh should discover new gas fields before allowing exports as its current reserve is insufficient to meet domestic needs.
But the government is reluctant to take a hasty decision on export, a sensitive political issue, as opposition parties say exports should be considered only after ensuring enough reserves for 50 years of domestic use. Bangladesh has 20.4 trillion cubic feet of proven plus probable recoverable gas in 22 fields, an earlier study by the Energy Ministry found.
