After four days of disruption the Chrvron-operated Bibiyana gas field resumed full production from Thursday morning, which is likely to end the gas crisis in parts of Bangladesh. Chevron Bangladesh in a statement confirmed this, saying that the Bibiyana Gas Plant has resumed full operations, with all process trains operational, five of the six affected wells back online and gas production at normal levels. Also read: Dhaka gas crisis likely to ease further from Thursday The trains and wells were progressively restored this week after a suspension of operations following the discovery of technical anomalies in one well on April 3. The cause of the anomalies in the well, which remains offline, is being investigated, said the company. Regrettably, this impacted gas supplies to consumers for some days this week. Chevron Bangladesh would like to acknowledge the assistance and partnership of Petrobangla in responding to this event, said Shaikh Jahidur Rahman, communications manager of Chevron Bangladesh. The country’s gas production drastically fell by about 450 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) on Sunday, the very first day of Ramadan, following a technical fault developed in the Bibiyana gas field. The Bibiyana gas field production capacity is 1200 MMCFD. The supply situation started improving from Monday afternoon as production resumed at one of the two affected process trains at the gas field. Officials said the gas field process system noticed that sand was coming out from two production wells which forced the authorities concerned to halt the production of the wells. The incident had a big impact on the overall gas production as many areas experienced disruptions following the fall in the pressure of gas supply as an outcome of the fault. Also read:Gas crisis eases as production resumes at process trains in Bibiyana gas field Consumers in many areas in the capital including Mohammadpur, Shekhertek, Rayerbazar, Dhanmondi, Shankar, Kanthalbagan, Mudhubazar, Kalabagan, Rampura, Wari, Maghbazar, Arambagh, Fakirapul, Banasree, Gopibagh, Mirpur, and Iskatan complained that they are not getting gas for cooking their meals. The major impact was on the power generation as the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) had to shut down a good number of power plants immediately which led to load shedding at different districts across the country.

The Bibiyana gas field may add 70 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD) by Thursday morning to further ease the nagging gas crisis in the capital. The Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources in a statement on Wednesday said this expressing its gratitude to the consumers for their patience during the crisis. Currently, the Bibiyana gas field is producing 1100 MMCFD gas against its capacity of 1200 MMCFD.  Also read: Gas crisis eases as production resumes at process trains in Bibiyana gas field The ministry also informed that measures are being taken to resolve the crisis as an LNG cargo with 2950 MMCFD will reach the Chattogram port by Thursday morning.  Earlier the ministry had informed that the Bibiyana gas field’s production would be normalized by Tuesday evening. But it’s now taking more time.    The country’s gas production drastically fell by about 450 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) on Sunday, the very first day of Ramadan, following a technical fault developed in the Bibiyana gas field. The supply situation started improving from Monday afternoon as production resumed at one of the two affected process trains at the gas field. Officials said the gas field process system noticed that sand was coming out from two production wells which forced the authorities concerned to halt the production of the wells. The incident had a big impact on the overall gas production as many areas experienced disruptions following the fall in the pressure of gas supply as an outcome of the fault. Also read:Gas crisis persists as Bibiyana field yet to resume full production Consumers in many areas in the capital including Mohammadpur, Shekhertek, Rayerbazar, Dhanmondi, Shankar, Kanthalbagan, Mudhubazar, Kalabagan, Rampura, Wari, Maghbazar, Arambagh, Fakirapul, Banasree, Gopibagh, Mirpur, and Iskatan complained that they are not getting gas for cooking their meals. The major impact was on the power generation as the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) had to shut down a good number of power plants immediately which led to load shedding at different districts across the country.

Gas supply situation has slightly improved as production resumed at one of the two affected process trains at the Bibiyana gas field. Both the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources and the Chevron Bangladesh have confirmed the improvement in the gas production and supply levels. According to a release of the ministry, the gas production at the Chevron gas field has increased to 1010 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) which had gone below 800 MMCFD following the technical fault at the process system. Also read: Gas crisis persists as Bibiyana field yet to resume full production It is expected that the production at the gas field will reach 1100 MMCFD by Tuesday evening against its actual capacity 1200 MMCFD, said the ministry. “After the relentless work of our experienced engineers, we are slowly beginning to overcome the crisis”, it said, adding that different areas had to experience gas shortage due to the emergency repair works at the Bibiyana gas field following a technical glitch. The ministry expressed its gratitude to its gas consumers for their patience during the crisis period. Meanwhile, Chevron Bangladesh in a separate statement said  it is making progress in returning the Bibiyana Gas Plant to full capacity, with production at one of the two process trains affected at the plant and four wells in the field already resumed. The plant is running at a reduced rate after suspension of operations at two of its five trains and six production wells in the field on April 3 following the discovery of some technical anomalies. Safety of workers, nearby communities and protection of the environment are top priorities for teams working to bring the second train and all remaining wells back online. The cause of the unplanned shutdown will be investigated.

Chevron Bangladesh, as part of its annual social investment efforts, recently provided materials such as hand-pumps, pipes and filters, for 80 deep and shallow tube-wells to ensure supply of safe drinking water to people living near its operational areas.

Chevron’s Bangladesh companies have implemented a multi-phase relief distribution effort to help communities living around Chevron’s gas fields in Bangladesh.