State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) found a potential prospect of gas reserve at Jakiganj in the country’s gas-rich Sylhet region Tuesday.
"We found Tuesday the presence of natural gas at around 2,872 metres depth from the surface while drilling an exploratory well there," a senior BAPEX official told the FE.
Test gas flow to the tune of around 5.0-6.0 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) from the newly drilled well was initiated at around 10 am.
It is not yet ascertained whether this gas will be commercially viable or not, said the official.
Further drilling and analysing of findings will be required to decide on its commercial viability, the BAPEX official added.
If it is declared as a field it will be the country's 28th discovered gas field.
Earlier in October 2017, BAPEX discovered Bhola gas field.
In June 2014, the state-owned exploration company discovered Rupganj gas field and in July 2012 BAPEX discovered a new gas field at Srikail, some 100 km off the capital.
Country’s overall natural gas output is currently hovering around 2,962 mmcfd including re-gasified imported LNG to the tune of around 445 mmcfd.
Of the total natural gas output, BAPEX is supplying around 144 mmcfd of gas from its eight operating gas fields against their cumulative production capacity of 145 mmcfd.
