Gas is being extracted from 4 wells in Bhola gas field. Although there is an opportunity to extract 80 mmcfd gas daily, 40 to 50 mmcfd gas is being extracted as there is no demand.
Two more wells (Tugby and Bhola North) are ready. Wells were dug at Tugbi 2017 and Bhola North 2018. In other words, Shahbazpur (Bhola) gas field is ready to extract more gas 3 years ago. Capable of extracting 120 mmcfd gas now if demand. Bapex is not able to produce gas due to lack of demand. The construction of a power plant is going to be completed in a short time which will create a demand of 40 mmcfd of gas. Even then there will be a surplus of 20 mmcfd gas.
There are plans to set up three more power plants in Bhola. Its generation capacity is set at 600 MW. However, it is still in the planning stage. Suddenly these power plants are not seeing the light. The Bhola-Barisal pipeline is unlikely to be visible in the near future.
In that case the concerned people have raised the question as to in whose interest they are taking the project of digging 3 wells in Bhola at high prices using the special power law. Not in the interest of the country, Bapex and Petrobangla have prepared this project for the Russian company Gazprom. The work was started on the orders of a departing official of the Energy Department. There are rumors that an adviser to the Prime Minister is working behind the scenes.
But before that, when Tagbi and Bhola North (idle wells) had to be dug with Gazprom, there were objections. It was said then that there is no benefit in digging these wells now. There will be no opportunity to extract gas from here. The two wells were then dug at an unusual rate, despite the objections of those concerned. Which still are idle.
With the naked eye, perhaps many can support digging a well and getting ready. But the reality is that this advance investment is thought to be like having a child home before marriage. Because Bapex is borrowing this money which has to be counted with interest. The way Bapex has been burdened with Taka 400 crore by digging wells in 2017. Bapex could have done it for a maximum of Taka 120 crore if it had done it itself. Even if they could do now with time, there would be no problem.
Similarly, the Russian company has been given the task of digging two new explorations and one of developing well. Energy experts have strong objections to the development of well. They can't find any logic in it. They think that digging new wells now means sitting idle. You have to sit down and calculate the interest.
Professor Shamsul Alam, energy adviser to CAB, told Barta24.com that the issue of digging wells in Bhola was not related to Bangladesh's energy needs. As Niko was hired as a profit-loss for special people, so it has been here. Here the special powers of law is being used as a shield. Nowhere in the world can you find an example of anarchy where a job worth Taka 10 is being given for Taka 100.
Mohammad Ali, managing director of Bapex, told Barta24.com that it was not true that there was no need for a well in Bhola. There is no demand at the moment but a new power plant (New Power (Bangladesh) Limited) will come into production soon. The demand for gas at the power plant will be plus-minus 40 mmcfd. Then the demand will exceed 100 MMCFD. Older wells have begun to decline in production. Wells are required to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to the power plant. And the more research can be done, the better for the energy sector.
But could Bapex do it himself? In response to such a question, Bapex MD said, Bapex has done it before and is still working, we have four rigs. We started digging a well (Sylhet-9) in Sylhet Gas Field on October 1.
According to another Bapex source, Bapex has signed a contract worth Taka 60 crore for drilling the Sylhet-9 well. This state-owned company will make a profit after working here. But for digging each well in Bhola, which has its own gas field, the Russian company will have to pay over Taka 160 crore. In other words, 330 crore rupees will have to be paid extra in three wells.
However, the Prime Minister's energy adviser Dr. Tawfiq e Ilahi Chowdhury BB has always sung in favor of Gazprom. It is reported that in a meeting, he said openly that Gazprom has been given the job at a much lower price than the international price. We have saved a lot of money in this deal.