S A Shofiee, Sylhet:
Sylhet Gas Fields Limited, Bapex and Bangladesh Gas Field Company have undertaken a master plan to drill 69 wells and re-drill 31 wells by 2028 to increase gas exploration and production in the country. As part of this, Sylhet Gas Fields Limited (SGFL) is busy drilling and re-drilling wells one after another to increase supply to the national grid by keeping gas reserves for a decade. The company’s latest success is the Rashidpur-3 well. A new gas discovery has been made through re-drilling in this well, which has been almost closed for a long time. Very soon, 8 million cubic feet of gas will be supplied to the national transmission line from the well daily.
Sylhet Gas Fields Limited Managing Director Md. Abdul Jalil Pramanik said, ‘The presence of gas has been confirmed in the tests. Some technical activities are underway, it will be connected to the grid soon.’
Currently, the company is supplying 142 million cubic feet of gas daily. According to the government’s target, it is planned to increase it to 164 million cubic feet by 2025. However, the company expects that it will be possible to supply 85 million cubic feet of gas more than the target.
In the meantime, gas supply has started from the Sylhet-10 well of the Haripur gas field. The drilling of another well next to it is almost at the final stage.
Abdul Jalil Pramanik said, ‘By 2026, it will be possible to supply about 60 million cubic feet of gas from six wells and 15 million cubic feet from two more wells.’
The government has set a target of drilling and re-drilling 50 wells by 2025 with three gas companies. Of these, 8 new wells are being drilled and 8 wells are being re-drilled under the Sylhet gas field. Most of this project is now in its final stages.
Sylhet Gas Fields Limited is in control of the Haripur, Rashidpur, Kailashtila and Beanibazar gas fields in Sylhet division. These gas fields currently have about 4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas reserves. Officials believe that it is possible to ensure supply for the next 9 to 10 years with these reserves.
Experts say that dependence on existing reserves can lead to danger in the future. Therefore, emphasis should be given to exploring new gas fields now.
Professor of the Department of Petroleum and Mining Engineering at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Dr. M. Farhad Howlader said,
“Exploration has not yet started in the Hing zone of Jessore region. However, the potential for gas there is high. A geological survey needs to be conducted there on an urgent basis.”
