Gas reserve found in 3rd zone of Ilisha-1

Gas reserves have been found in the third zone of the Ilisha-1 field in Bhola which would produce around 20 million cubic feet of gas per day, said officials at the Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex).

After launching Drill Stem Test (DST) at the zone, a method will be adopted to measure and record gas pressure in the well, Bapex Managing Director Mohammad Ali confirmed the development to The Business Standard on Monday.

With this, the Bapex authorities believe that there will be around 200 billion cubic feet of gas reserves in the three zones of the fields which would be able supply 20 million cubic feet of gas per day for 25 to 27 years, said the Bapex managing director.

He said, "This is going to be the 29th gas field of the country and the third one for the island district Bhola."

At present, there are nine wells under three gas fields in Bhola that have the capacity to supply around 200 mmcf gas per day.

The government has taken several measures to enhance the domestic gas supply and overcome the energy crisis in the country. As part of this effort, the Bapex initiated the drilling of Ilisha-1 well in Bhola.

On 8 March, Ilisha-1 excavation started in the Maler Hat area of Ilisha union in Bhola Sadar upazila and the drilling was completed successfully on 24 April through the Drill Stem Test in three levels at a depth of 3,475 metres.

According to sources, Russia's Gazprom is conducting drilling operations at the well as per the design and instruction contract with Bapex.

After the discovery of the Shahbazpur gas field in Borhanuddin, Bhola in 1993-94, eight wells were subsequently drilled in Bhola Sadar and Borhanuddin upazila. As of now, the total gas reserve in the district stands at 1.7 TCF.

Gas reserves in the other 26 fields in different points of the country, however, hovers between 7 TCF to 8 TCF which is estimated enough for another seven years if there are no more gas fields with good reserves.