Aminur Rahman Rasel
bdnews24.com Correspondent

Dhaka, Jun 30 (bdnews24.com) — The state-run energy exploration company, Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company, better known as Bapex, has said that there are chances of finding gas reserve in an experimental well at Srikail in Comilla district.

Yusuf Harun, Director of the well-drilling project, told bdnews24.com on Saturday that the drilling work of the well was completed on Friday.

"After drilling some 3,214 metres, the 'login' (method to determine gas reserve) process is now underway, which is expected to be completed on Sunday," he added.

He said possibility of a gas reserve surfaced during the login process.

Bapex started exploratory drilling at Srikail in the first week of May to confirm availability of viable gas reserve there.

In 2004, Bapex drilled the first well at Srikail but failed to hit any gas reserves.

A subsidiary of Petrobangla, Bapex began work on the second well in the area after three-dimensional survey showed potential chances of gas find there.

Petrobangla is the state-run Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation.

Bapex began drilling the second well in May, though the National Economic Council, or NEC, had approved the Tk 811-million project proposal way back in July 2008.

In August 2011, Bapex had found a small gas reserve at Sundalpur in Companyganj in Noakhali.

Bapex supplies 10 million cubic feet of gas a day from the Sundalpur field to the nearest gas transmission and distribution network at Maijdi in Noakhali.

The company conducted another 2D seismic survey along a 600-kilometre line in Sunetra structure in Sunamganj. Officials expect that the size of the reserve is two-three trillion cubic feet.

The drilling work will start soon.

Including Sundalpur, Bapex has so far discovered three gas fields in the country. It found gas reserve at Shahbazpur in Bhola district in 1995 and at Salda in Brahmanbaria district in 1996.

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