The country's recoverable gas reserves have increased by about 2 trillion cubic feet (tcf). According to Petrobangla sources, the remaining reserves after extraction from 29 gas fields in the country are about 9 TCF.
At present daily (March 4-5) gas extraction is about 2.1 billion cubic feet. As such, the annual extraction amount is about 76.76 TCF. If extraction continues at this rate, and if no new discoveries are made, the gas reserves will run out within the next 12 years.
According to Petrobangla's 2022 annual report (31 December 2022), the remaining gas reserves were 8.68 TCF. After that calculation, 1 more year has passed (year 2023). About 1 tcf of gas is being extracted annually from domestic gas fields that year. That is, if the reserve is reduced from 8 and a half TCF to 1 TCF, the stock is about 7 and a half TCF.
But luckily, Bangladesh has recently discovered a gas field (Elisha-1) and new layers in several places. This has increased the estimated reserve by about 2 TCF, Petrobangla sources said.
Petrobangla Chairman Janendra Nath Sarkar told Barta24.com that the remaining reserves of the gas fields have been reviewed. This has increased the stock to over 9 TCF. A file regarding stock review has been sent to the Prime Minister for approval. Once the approval is received, it will be updated everywhere including the Petrobangla website.
Bibiana, the country's largest gas field owned by multinational company Chevron, is said to have increased reserves. In response to the question of how much it has increased, the chairman of Petrobangla said that he does not remember the exact figure at the moment. But their stock has increased more than before.
An official of Petrobangla's gas reserves department told Barta24.com on the condition of anonymity that Bibiana's reserves have increased to about 1 TCF. In the 2022 report, their remaining reserves were 333.44 BCF. Then for a year more or less 1050 million cubic feet of gas was extracted daily. As such they have extracted 377 BCF. The field was supposed to be out of stock by now. But still the lifting is almost at the previous position.
There are several sources of reserves calculation; one is proved reserves, probable and potential (3P). Proved and probable recoverable reserves are estimated. Probability is not taken into general consideration.
Bibiana gas field discovered in 1998 is considered to be the largest gas field till date. By adding 3P the reserve stands at 7 thousand 84 BCF out of which the potential reserve is considered to be 1329 BCF. As of December 31, 2022, 5,422 BCF of gas has been extracted from the gas field.
The 2008 estimate estimated new reserves through drilling of new wells and other surveys. Chevron Bangladesh has long been claiming that it has more reserves. Petrobangla did not agree with that. This time the approval by Petrobangla, after which the Division of Energy and Mineral Resources has reached the Minister's Office (Prime Minister) of the Ministry. The file will be downloaded and announced.
29 gas fields have been discovered by drilling only 98 exploration wells in 113 years (first well drilling in 1910) in Bangladesh continent. A few fields such as Mubarakpur and Kashba which have been found to be gas dark have not been declared commercially exploitable. Tripura, on the other hand, has drilled more than 150 exploratory wells in a small area. That is why Bangladesh's oil and gas exploration is still considered to be limited. Bangladesh has to turn to import of LNG to eliminate the gas crisis. Due to which the energy market of the country has become turbulent. It has become difficult to cope with increasing prices in phases.
Energy experts have been blaming the stagnation of exploration for the gas crisis in the country. For a long time, many were critical of Petrobangla due to its laxity. But those days are now beginning to change. Petrobangla has started running at the speed of a bullet after breaking the deadlock. On the one hand, as the pace has increased, on the other hand, new dimensions have been added to oil and gas exploration.
Until now, Bangladesh was stuck in a certain bottleneck in oil and gas exploration. To put it more briefly, Bangladesh was trapped between Surma Basin, ie, from Sylhet to Moulvibazar, Habiganj, Brahmanbaria, Cumilla, Feni, Noakhali and Bhola. Although there are some exploration activities in other areas, the amount can be said to be insignificant. Petrobangla is going to bring radical changes there too.
Two more have been added to the ongoing 46 well project. The 48 well drilling project is progressing at a fast pace and will be completed by 2025. Bangladesh has already started getting the benefits of that program. Through 10 wells, the capacity to extract 13 million cubic feet of gas per day has increased in Bangladesh. Production was expected to rise to 100 million cubic feet per day. There is a way to get more than the target of 3 crore cubic feet of gas.
Apart from the 48 well drilling project, Petrobangla plans to drill another 100 wells by 2026-28. More than three hundred potential areas have been identified for this from where 100 wells will be finalized after verification. A core committee is working for this.
Out of 29 gas fields discovered in Bangladesh, gas is being extracted from 20. Gas cannot be extracted from 4 gas fields due to various reasons including lack of pipeline. And Sangu, Chatak, Kamta, Feni and Rupganj have been temporarily declared unfit for lifting. Till December 31, 2022, a total of 19.94 TCF of gas has been extracted from domestic gas fields.