State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (BAPEX) has launched a fresh exploration drive at Mobarakpur in Pabna, hoping to tap commercially viable gas reserves after an earlier attempt was halted over technological limitations.
BAPEX is preparing to drill beyond 6km at the site with a Chinese contractor, as repeated seismic surveys have indicated significant gas potential, said officials.
Site development is underway at Kuripara village in Ahmedpur union of Sujanagar upazila, with drilling scheduled to begin in mid-June 2028.
An earlier BAPEX project in 2014, costing Tk 89 crore, targeted 4.5km but was suspended due to high gas pressure and technological constraints.
“When the project began in 2014, our target depth was 4.5km. However, high gas pressure forced us to suspend operations. Deeper exploration required technology we lacked at the time,” said Md Shoyeb, director of Production, Sharing, Operations and Mines at Petrobangla.
“Building on that experience, we have partnered with a Chinese company to drill deeper than 6km at the site,” he said.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council recently approved a Tk 1,136.25 crore project for three deep exploration wells -- Shrikail Deep-1, Mobarakpur Deep-1 and Fenchuganj South-1. The government will provide Tk 909 crore as a loan and BAPEX Tk 227.25 crore.
BAPEX expects extraction to begin by late 2028 if drilling goes smoothly, with projected production of at least 20 million cubic feet of gas a day for 20 years.
Petrobangla conducted 2D seismic surveys at Mobarakpur in 1980-81 and 1983-84, while BAPEX conducted further surveys in 2006-07 and 2007-08. All indicated gas prospects.
SAM Merajul Alom, project director of Mobarakpur Deep-1, said land acquisition and site preparation were underway.
In May, BAPEX signed a $59.47 million agreement with CNPC Chuanqing Drilling Engineering Company Ltd to drill Shrikail Deep-1 in Cumilla and Mobarakpur Deep-1. CCDC has started work in Cumilla and will move to Pabna after completing it.
Six acres of land in Ahmedpur Mouja were acquired and handed over to BAPEX in March, said Sujanagar UNO Mir Rasheduzzaman Rashed.
“We have initiated a Tk 5.5 crore piling project for site preparation, which began on July 27 and is expected to be completed by December,” said BAPEX site engineer Md Kamrul Islam.
