BD finds new oil resources

DHAKA: State-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (Bapex) found 137 million barrels of new oil resources and revised downward its natural gas reserves by 35.63 percent to 1.53 Tcf in the Kailashtila and Sylhet fields.

Bapex managing director Mortuza Ahmad Faruque disclosed the matter on Friday.

Mortuza Ahmad said both Kailashtila and Sylhet gas fields are among the oldest gas fields of Bangladesh, discovered in 1955 and 1962, respectively.

Both the fields are owned by Petrobangla’s subsidiary Sylhet Gas Fields Ltd.

Kailashtila produces around 70,000 Mcf/d of gas from five wells, while Sylhet produces around 10,000 Mcf/d of gas from two wells.

He said, “We conducted 3D surveys in the Kailashtila and Haripur fields recently to delineate the energy resources there for future exploration as no comprehensive surveys were not conducted there before.”

Bapex has found 109 million barrels of new oil at around 4,000 meters depth in Kailashtila and 28 million barrels of oil at 2,600 m depth in the Sylhet field, he said.

At least 40 percent of this oil is recoverable, he said, adding further oil could be found if drilling programs are carried out.

He said oil was earlier found in the Sylhet field, formerly known as the Haripur field, in 1986.

Around 0.56 million barrels of oil was produced from the Sylhet field during 1987-94, Faruque said.

He said initial oil production from the Sylhet field was around 400 b/d in 1987, which dropped to around 100 b/d in 1994 before the suspension of production.

Faruq said the Kailashtila field has 1.224 Tcf of recoverable gas instead of previously estimated 1.904 Tcf.

A total of 517 Bcf of gas has been produced from the Kailashtila gas field until April 2012, the Bapex official said.

The Sylhet field has 310 Bcf of recoverable gas instead of the previously estimated 479 Bcf.

A total of 196 Bcf of gas has been produced from the Sylhet gas field as of April 2012, Faruq added.

BDST: 1835 HRS, MAY 19, 2012

Edited by: Abul Kalam Azad, Newsroom Editor; M. Mahbub Alam, Asst Output Editor