Online Desk  :  Bangladesh was once described as floating on natural gas fields.That is now nothing more than a golden past. The country’s natural gas reserves are starting to deplete. Gas stockpiles and production are rapidly dwindling. It is estimated that the existing reserves will last only 10 to 12 more years. The future of natural gas is a growing concern for energy sector stakeholders, as new major gas fields have not been discovered on land and the reserves in older fields are depleting rapidly. The Bangladesh Oil, Gas, and Mineral Resources Corporation (Petrobangla) called for international tenders to explore energy in the sea, but no foreign companies responded. This has made the situation even more critical.

In this scenario, the business sector in the country is also worried. As natural gas runs out, customers will have to rely on LNG (liquefied natural gas), which is more expensive. This shift will result in a significant hike in industrial production costs as well as the cost of living. Dr Ijaz Hossain is former dean of engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and an energy expert told Bangladesh Protidin, “I fear that the country’s gas reserves will be exhausted within the next 10 years. If the current drilling efforts by the government to find new gas supplies do not succeed, the situation will become even more dire.”

He added, “At present, 80% of our natural gas comes from domestic sources, with 20% imported as liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, as the reserves continue to deplete and without new discoveries, by 2030, we might have to depend on LNG for 80% of our needs.” Dr Hossain continued, “The ongoing drilling might bring some improvement, but demand will increase further. At that point, more LNG will have to be imported. We must assess whether Bangladesh has the capability to manage this situation. I believe we do not have that capacity. This means we will have to live through a period of struggle. The industrial sector will suffer, and some gas consumers will get supply while others will not.”

Over the past 15 years, Bhola is the only place where a major gas field has been discovered. Despite the substantial gas reserves, they cannot be supplied to the national grid due to the absence of pipelines. To increase reserves, efforts have already been made to explore, develop, and refurbish wells in old gas fields. Through these initiatives, Petrobangla is trying to slightly increase gas production. Additionally, gas in Bangladesh’s maritime area remains untapped. Most recently, in March 2024, Petrobangla issued an international tender for oil and gas exploration in the sea. Initially, seven foreign oil and gas companies purchased the tender documents, but in the end, no company submitted a bid within the specified deadline.

Petrobangla officials say that if no new major gas reserves are found in the country, imported LNG will be used after 2031. This will further exacerbate the crisis. According to the company’s data, gas is currently being produced from 20 gas fields, both small and large. Additionally, gas reserves have been found in four other fields, but extraction is not possible. Gas extraction has been halted from five other gas fields for various reasons. As per the Hydrocarbon Unit’s data, by January 2024, a total of 20.80 TCF (trillion cubic feet) of gas has been produced, leaving 9.12 TCF in reserve. Typically, around one TCF of gas is extracted annually, which means the remaining reserves could sustain production for another 10 to 12 years. However, this gas reserve assessment, conducted by a U.S. company, dates back to 2010. At its peak, daily gas production exceeded 2,500 million cubic feet, but it has now fallen to 2,000 million cubic feet per day.

The production from the country’s largest gas fields is also declining. According to Hydrocarbon data, the initial reserve of the Bibiyana Gas Field in Habiganj was estimated at 8,383 billion cubic feet (BCF), with an extractable reserve of 5,755 BCF. By January, 5,827 BCF has been produced from this field. In the Jalalabad Gas Field in Sylhet, the initial reserve was 2,716 BCF, with an extractable reserve of 1,429 BCF. By January, 1,632 BCF had been extracted. The Moulvibazar Gas Field initially had a reserve of 494 BCF, with an extractable reserve of 428 BCF. By January, 351 BCF had been produced. Based on these figures, the Moulvibazar reserves are close to depletion, and the reserves in Bibiyana and Jalalabad are also expected to run out soon. Although no official announcement has been made regarding an increase in gas reserves in Bibiyana and Jalalabad, Chevron reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last May that the reserves had grown by a total of 481 BCF.

Petrobangla and Hydrocarbon Unit data indicates that as of January, Sylhet Gas Field Limited’s (SGFL) five gas fields hold over 5 TCF of remaining reserves. However, these fields are only producing 118 million cubic feet of gas per day, with 14 wells in operation. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Gas Field Company Limited (BGFCL), another state-owned entity has five gas fields with nearly 3 TCF of reserves, but they are producing 546 million cubic feet of gas daily.