According to sources at the state-owned Petrobangla, the Bakharabad Gas Field has now been producing 15 million cubic gas per day (mmcfd) from Well No-1 of the field.

“We hope, if everything goes well, the production could be increased by another 10 mmcfd”, said engineer Ashraful Islam, project director of the Petrobangla’s project on work-over of 7 wells.

He said the well-No 1 of the Bakhrabad gas field is one of the oldest wells in the country which was first drilled in 1968 and it started producing 33 mmcfd gas in 1981 through work-over process.  

But the production came to a halt in May 2015 for fall in pressure and also excessive water.

As per the suggestion of a technical committee of the Petrobanbgla , the Petrobangla’s subsidiary Bangladesh Gas Field Limited, which operates the Bakhrabad gas field, took a decision to conduct the work-over process at the well under a project titled: “Work-over at 7 wells in Titas, Hobiganj, Norsingdi and Bakhrabad Gas Fields”.

Officials said they conducted the work-over process from February 20-May 15 this year and finally the success came on Wednesday.

Ashraful Islam said that there is a possibility increase in gas production by another 10 mmcfd from the well as a new zone of gas was found at a level of 2000-2006 meter depth during the work-over process.     

He also said experts from a number of local and foreign companies’ including state-owned Bapex, Chinese CPL and also an Indian company were engaged in the work which made the initiative a success.