State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) started drilling a workover well in Biyanibazar gas field on Saturday to reinitiate gas production from the well after five years.
"We have initiated drilling of Biyanibazar-1 well today (Saturday) in search of a new gas zone some 3,200 metres beneath the surface," BAPEX Managing Director (MD) Mohammad Ali told the FE on Saturday.
Some 5.0 to 7.0 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of natural gas is expected to be produced once the drilling of the workover well is planned to be completed by December this year, he said.
Sylhet Gas fields Ltd (SFGL) Managing Director Md Mizanur Rahman and top officials of the BAPEX and the SGFL attended an inaugural event organised to mark initiation of the drilling.
Biyanibazar gas field is owned by the SGFL, while the BAPEX will be carrying out the drilling job under a bilateral agreement.
BAPEX has a deal with the SGFL to drill three wells owned by the SGFL at a cost of around Tk 1.0 billion.
"We have already completed drilling of two wells of the SGFL - Sylhet-8 and Kailashtila-7," said BAPEX MD Mohammad Ali.
Sylhet-8 well is now producing around 6.0 mmcfd of gas and Kailashtila-7 well is producing around 10 mmcfd of gas.
Biyanibazar-1 had been a producing gas well until 2017.
It was producing natural gas from 1991 to 2014 uninterruptedly.
After 2014 it had stopped producing natural gas for one year and then reinitiated production for three years from 2015 to 2017.
Biyanibazar-1 well was then producing natural gas from an old gas zone some 3,400 meter depth.
