Photo: Collected Power,
Energy, and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan on Thursday (October 3) said the government has taken an initiative to strengthen natural gas exploration work, which aims to mitigate the prevailing energy crisis.
"The
energy crisis is being created due to declining gas reserves in the country. As
a result, the government is forced to import expensive LNG," he told
journalists in his ministry conference room.
Fouzul
Kabir said that the current government has decided to strengthen gas exploration activities across the country, adding, "Seven companies have expressed interest in deep-sea gas exploration."
He
said the government plans to drill 50 gas wells by 2025, of which 15 wells have already been drilled. 176 million cubic feet daily (mmcfd) of gas is being found, but 76 mmcfd of gas is now being supplied to the national grid due to the pipeline's unavailability.
The
adviser said more than 35 wells will be drilled by 2025, of which Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) will drill 11, and the remaining 24 wells will be open tender. There will be no G-to-G (Government to Government).
He
said the government will drill a total of 100 wells by 2028, of which 69 will be onshore. BAPEX will explore 33 wells by hiring 10 rigs, and the remaining 26 wells will be explored through the open tender method.
Fouzul
Kabir also said that Bangladesh is alert to the instability in the global energy market caused by the ongoing Middle East situation.
He said the prevailing energy crisis would be mitigated if digging and exploring wells became easy, but the energy ministry was not in favor of extending
the duration of project implementation.
Energy
secretary Md Nurul Alam, chairman of Petrobangla Zanendra Nath Sarkar, and concerned officials attended the briefing.
