To boost domestic gas production, the previous Awami League government took several initiatives under BAPEX, the state-owned oil and gas exploration and production company. These included surveys, exploration, and well drilling. Since taking office, the current interim government has continued these steps. But despite various activities, there has been little progress in actual gas production from BAPEX-operated fields. Although BAPEX holds the largest number of gas fields among local companies, it is also the lowest producer. Currently, it supplies only 104 million cubic feet of gas per day from its eight fields, which is just 5 percent of the total daily supply.
According to Petrobangla, there are three state-owned companies producing gas in the country. Among them, BAPEX is producing the least. Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited (BGFCL) has a total daily production of 437 million cubic feet from five gas fields. The Titas gas field is its top contributor, producing 295 million cubic feet per day. Sylhet Gas Fields Limited (SGFL) is the second-highest local producer, supplying 133 million cubic feet per day from five fields.
BAPEX lags far behind in gas production. Experts say that despite operating eight fields, BAPEX’s daily output of 104 million cubic feet is significantly low compared to others.
Petrobangla’s data shows BAPEX currently oversees eight gas fields. Among them, four fields produce less than or around 2 million cubic feet per day. The Salda River field produces 2.9 million cubic feet, while Fenchuganj in Sylhet produces 6.3 million. The Shahbazpur field in Bhola has the highest output—69 million cubic feet per day. The Semutang field produces only 0.5 million cubic feet, Sundalpur produces 2 million, and Srikail in Cumilla produces just over 13 million. Begumganj in Noakhali produces 9.6 million, and although the Rupganj field has the capacity to produce 9 million cubic feet daily, it currently produces none.
Among all the BAPEX-operated fields, Shahbazpur in Bhola has the highest production. However, since it is not connected to the national grid, the gas is being used by local industries and power plants in Bhola.
Experts say that excluding Shahbazpur, BAPEX’s contribution to the national grid is minimal. As a state-run oil and gas exploration company, BAPEX was expected to lead in supply. But it has fallen behind. Despite various efforts by the government over time, the company is still trailing in gas production.
Ijaz Hossain, an energy expert and former Professor at BUET, told Bonik Barta, “BAPEX was originally established as an exploration company. Later, it started production from the fields it discovered. As a result, it didn’t remain just an exploration company—it also began functioning as a production company. Since they’re now working as a production company, they had the opportunity to increase output. That opportunity was there, but they couldn’t expand gas production on a large scale. I believe, as a domestic company, they should have significantly increased their production. Now they’re receiving funding, so they should be more active in the production sector. Because the country’s biggest crisis now is gas. So BAPEX has plenty of scope to do more in increasing gas production.”
Production data from the last few years show that BAPEX’s gas output has declined. In FY 2020–21, BAPEX produced 35,611 million cubic feet of gas. In FY 2021–22, production increased by at least 15,000 million cubic feet, reaching 50,000 million cubic feet. But from FY 2022–23, the supply began to fall. That year, BAPEX’s total output was 48,277 million cubic feet. In FY 2023–24, production dropped further to 47,104 million cubic feet. This means that over the last three fiscal years, BAPEX’s total gas supply declined by at least 3,000 million cubic feet.
When Bonik Barta attempted to contact the BAPEX Managing Director (MD), Engineer Md Fazlul Haque, for comments, he could not be reached for an immediate response.
However, speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior BAPEX official told Bonik Barta, “BAPEX is working jointly with several local and international extraction companies in gas exploration and well drilling. If you consider the scale of these operations, BAPEX is currently doing more work than ever before. We’re making strong efforts to develop our own wells and increase gas production. By the end of this year, BAPEX’s gas output will rise compared to previous years.”
To boost domestic gas production, the government has planned to drill 100 wells by 2029. BAPEX will drill more than half of those. Under the plan, BAPEX will drill a total of 57 wells, including five under BGFCL and SGFL. Of these, 33 wells will be drilled using BAPEX’s own rigs, while the rest will be drilled using rented rigs brought in from abroad.