State-owned Sylhet Gas Fields Limited (SGFL) has taken an initiative to drill three new gas and oil wells as part of efforts to ease the country's gas shortage and reduce dependence on costly imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The wells – Rashidpur-13, Dupitila-1 and Kailashtila-9 – are expected to add 3 crore cubic feet of gas per day to the national grid once drilling is completed, officials said.

At present, SGFL supplies around 14.20 crore cubic feet of gas daily to the national grid from its 17 functioning wells.

SGFL Managing Director Engr Md Faruque Hossain said, “SGFL is currently supplying 14.2 crore cubic feet of gas to the national grid every day. Once drilling of the three wells is completed, an additional 3 crore cubic feet of gas can be added to the grid," he said.

Energy experts stressed the need to intensify domestic gas and oil exploration instead of relying heavily on LNG imports, which require substantial foreign currency expenditure each year.

They said Bangladesh has significant untapped hydrocarbon potential both onshore and offshore and called for expanding exploration activities through faster coordination with local and international companies.

Prof Dr Muhammad Farhad Howladar of the Department of Petroleum and Mining Engineering at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology said accelerating exploration activities is essential to ensuring the country's long-term energy security.

Established under Petrobangla, SGFL discovered Bangladesh's first natural gas field in 1955.

Apart from natural gas, the company's production currently meets around 30-35 percent of the country's petrol demand, 12-15 percent of octane demand, about 9 percent of diesel demand and nearly 2 percent of kerosene demand.