Drilling starts in new gas well in Noakhali; 40mmcf expected per day

The Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) has commenced excavation work on a promising new gas well in Noakhali. 

Located in Ambarnagar village of Sonaimuri upazila, the project is named the Begumganj-4 (West) Evaluation and Development Well Excavation Project.

Over 200 engineers and workers began operations on Monday (22 April) and will continue for the next 120 days. BAPEX official Md Asaduzzaman confirmed the development, stating that a drilling rig is now in place for well excavation.

The initial target depth is 3,200 meters, with hopes of discovering natural gas in four separate zones. Each zone, upon successful excavation, is expected to yield 10 million cubic feet of gas daily. This extracted gas will be channelled into the national grid via Bakhrabad.

Assembling the drilling rig, a complex machine comprised of heavy equipment, involves transporting its parts by vehicles and then carefully lifting and joining them with a crane. The 'rig mast,' the heaviest component, is positioned horizontally before being assembled at the drilling site.

This is not the first attempt at gas exploration in this area. BAPEX records indicate the discovery of wells in Begumganj in 1976 and 1978, but neither yielded gas. However, a well discovered in 2013 yielded positive results, and after further work in 2018, it now contributes 8 million cubic feet of gas to the national grid daily. 

Petrobangla, Bangladesh's state-owned oil and gas company, emphasises the government's unwavering commitment to domestic fuel exploration and production. Driven by the motto "We need more gas to make the country's economy and industrialisation more dynamic," the government aims to drill a total of 46 new exploration, development, and workover wells by 2025.