Titas drilling to boost domestic gas supply 

Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited (BGFCL) is set to add at least 45 million cubic feet (mmcf) of gas a day to the national grid from three new wells at the Titas gas field in Brahmanbaria within the next six months, offering some relief amid the country’s ongoing energy shortage.

BGFCL Managing Director Engineer Md Abdul Jalil Pramanik said drilling of the three wells is expected to be completed within six months, after which they could supply at least 45mmcf of gas daily to the national grid.

He said the additional gas would not be large compared with overall demand but would still be important as it would help Bangladesh reduce its reliance on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).

One of the wells, Titas-31, is being drilled to a depth of 5,600 metres and has already reached 4,920 metres. BGFCL expects to complete its drilling this year and initially supply at least 15mmcf of gas daily from the well.

The well is the country's first and deepest exploratory gas well and is being drilled in an area believed to contain around 2 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to officials. It is also the country's highest-pressure and highest-temperature well.

"Drilling of well 31 is currently underway, while drilling of well 29 has been completed. Well 31, located in Nandanpur of Brahmanbaria Sadar upazila, began drilling on 19 April," said Md Mahmudul Nawab, director of the Deep Exploration Gas Well Drilling Project.

He said drilling of well 31 would take another three months to complete.

BGFCL has undertaken projects to drill wells 29, 30 and 31 at the Titas field to increase production as output from existing wells has been declining with falling gas reserves and pressure.

According to BGFCL, well 29 has been drilled to a depth of 2,860 metres, while well 30 will be drilled using the same rig.

"We have drilled up to 3,700 metres at Titas so far. We do not know what lies below that," Nawab said, adding that well 31 was being drilled to explore deeper layers amid the country's energy shortage.

BGFCL currently supplies around 27 per cent of the country's total natural gas production. It has also taken up projects to drill new wells at other gas fields under its operation, which will be undertaken gradually.

The new wells are intended to partly offset declining production from existing fields and increase the share of domestic gas in the national supply, reducing pressure on imported LNG.