Dhaka: There is a good news for debt-ridden Bangladesh. Bangladesh has discovered a new natural gas reserve in the southern part of the country with the potential for large amounts of fossil fuels in the new area. The gas reserves in Bhola district were discovered by the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX), Xinhua news agency reported. Minister of State for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid announced the discovery of the new gas reserve.
According to a statement by Hamid’s ministry, the newly discovered Bhola Uttar-2 appraisal well is expected to extract more than 20 million cubic feet of gas per day. BAPEX discovered the gas by drilling about 3,428 meters deep. The minister wrote on his Facebook page that Petrobangla (Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation) will drill 46 new exploration, development and work-over wells by 2025. Also, the minister stressed the need to continue natural gas exploration in the South Asian country.
Bhola district has huge gas reserves
Over the years, BAPEX discovered about a dozen small- to medium-sized fields. The largest field so far is in Bhola, an offshore island covering an area of 3,403.48 sq km and about 205 km south of the capital Dhaka, which claims reserves of hundreds of billions of cubic feet.
Bangladesh is currently passing through a period of political instability. Opposition Khaleda Zia’s party has increased the pressure on the Sheikh Hasina government. On the other hand, Sheikh Hasina is surrounded from home to abroad due to the increasing debt of the country, violation of human rights and economic crisis. In such a situation, this news has brought a great relief for them. Sheikh Hasina is constantly balancing India and China.
